Pacquiao turns to SC for tax relief

People’s Champ and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao. Photo by Chris Farina / Pacquiao’s official Facebook page

MANILA — In order to stop the Bureau of Internal Revenue from collecting their alleged tax deficiency, boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao have turned to seek the help of the Supreme Court.

Pacquiao, with his wife Jinkee, filed a petition fated July 24 asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and stop the BIR from collecting the deficient amount.

In an order dated July 11, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) required Pacquiao to post a cash bond or a surety worth P4,947,772,341.53.

Pacquiao, however said in the petition that the amount was “effectively an impossible condition given that their undisputed net worth is only Pl,185,984,697.”

Through his lawyers from the Romulo, Mabanta, Buenaventura, Sayoc & De los Angeles law offices, Pacquiao argued that the CTA committed “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction” in requiring the amount within 30 days from the receipt of the resolution.

They added that the BIR “commenced tax collection process against Jinkee without issuing or serving a notice against her.”

Also written in the petition is their argument that the tax agency “failed to comply with the procedural due process requirements for summary tax collection remedies under Sections 207(A) and (B) of the Tax Code when it commenced summary collection remedies before the expiration of the period for Petitioners to pay the assessed deficiency taxes.”

The couple alleged that their constitutional right was violated “in presuming the correctness of a fraud assessment without evidentiary support other than the issuance of the fraud assessments themselves.”