Manny Pacquiao’s says all his money has been locked up and he cannot help typhoon victims in Philippines that he had pledged to do so. Vincent Yu / AP Photo
Manny Pacquiao’s says all his money has been locked up and he cannot help typhoon victims in Philippines that he had pledged to do so. Vincent Yu / AP Photo

Manny Pacquiao claims financial blow has left him powerless to help typhoon affected



Manny Pacquiao revealed yesterday authorities have frozen all his domestic bank accounts over allegations of unpaid taxes from lucrative fights in the United States, leaving him financially paralysed.

“This is harassment,” the former eight-division world champion said in an interview on ABS-CBN television, as he disclosed for the first time a freeze order issued by the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue in recent months.

The announcement came just two days after Pacquiao, 34, resurrected his boxing career with a unanimous points decision over American Brandon Rios in Macau.

The victory, which Pacquiao dedicated to the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan that claimed thousands of lives in the Philippines this month, added to his lustre among millions of Filipinos.

Pacquiao is now eyeing more lucrative fights in the United States. He is also pursuing a political career in the Philippines, where he is a second-term congressman with ambitions of eventually becoming president.

Pacquiao said the tax office took the action because it believed he had evaded paying 2.2 billion pesos (Dh184.7 million) in taxes on his fights in the United States in 2008 and 2009 when he was at the peak of his career and earning tens of millions of dollars.

He said he had already paid taxes on those earnings in the United States, which has a treaty with the Philippines that allows citizens of both countries to avoid double taxation. However, he said the tax bureau had rejected the documents he provided to prove he had already paid the US Internal Revenue Service.

“I am not a criminal or a thief. I am not hiding anything. I will face my problems as they come,” Pacquiao said. “I have already paid my taxes in America. Had I not paid the correct taxes they [US authorities] would have come after me and I would not have been able to travel there.”

The Philippine tax bureau confirmed the local bank accounts of Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee had been frozen. However tax commissioner Kim Henares denied any harassment, saying only two bank accounts containing a total of 1.1 million pesos were frozen.

“Don’t tell me he only has 1.1 million pesos. Where is the rest of [his] money? I have no idea. It has not been garnished [seized],” she said. She said Pacquiao had failed to submit the proper documents proving he paid taxes in the US.

Tax officials gave Pacquiao two years to respond to their assessment but all he submitted was a letter from his US promoter Top Rank saying he had paid his taxes in America, according to Henares.

“This is a mere scrap of paper. Anyone can write that,” she said.

Henares said she could not understand why the wealthy sports hero was bringing up the tax dispute now. “Maybe he should hire better lawyers and accountants,” she added.

The Pacquiaos have asked the Court of Tax Appeals to lift the bank freeze, but it has yet to rule on the couple’s petition.

President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Herminio Coloma brushed off suggestions Pacquiao was being singled out for political harassment. “We are a government of laws, not of men,” Coloma said.

The government has been running a campaign against high-profile tax evaders, targeting movie stars as well as businessmen who flaunt their wealth through flashy sports cars.

Pacquiao said most of his cash was kept in the Philippine bank accounts. He said the freeze order had left him without money to pay his staff, and forced him to borrow “not less than one million pesos” to fulfil pledges to help victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Pacquiao’s suffered two losses last year, the second in a knockout to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.

But even last year, Forbes magazine listed him as the 14th highest-paid athlete globally with an estimated US$34 million (Dh134.8m) in earnings.

* Agence France-Presse

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1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 171 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP) 151
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP) 136
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) 107
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 83
6. Sergio Perez (Force India) 50
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 45
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India) 39
9. Carlos Sainz (Torro Rosso) 29
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) 22

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McIlroy's recent struggles

Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)

Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)

The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)

The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)

US Open Missed the cut (78)

Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)

Irish Open Missed the cut (72)

NBA FINALS SO FAR

(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106

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Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)

Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15

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The 24-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).

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Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).

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Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959

Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.

He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses

Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas

His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s

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Name: ARDH Collective
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Director: Kangana Ranaut

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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