BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said she is unaware of memes spreading online showing her in a face-off with world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao over his fight purse for his victory over Timothy Bradley on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Netizens had a field day after Pacquiao regaining the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown from Bradley, with memes showing Henares and the fighting congressman from General Santos in a fighting stance making the rounds on social networking sites.
Henares, however, said in an interview with radio station DZBB that she had not seen any of the memes since she has no personal accounts on Facebook or Twitter.
The controversial BIR chief also told the radio station she is too busy with her work, Tuesday being the deadline for the filing of annual income tax returns, to check on the memes.
Pacquiao, whose tax liabilites with the BIR emerged shortly after his win over American Brandon Rios in Macau last year, will receive a guaranteed purse of US$20 million for the fight against Bradley, not including a sizeable share in the fight's pay-per-view buys.
However, Henares made it clear that Pacquiao need not pay any taxes in the Philippines as long as he provides documentation that he has paid takes in the US amounting to 40 percent of the purse.
The same applies for Pacquiao's earnings from PPV buys and endorsements in the US, the tax chief added.
Still, Henares said the eight-division world champion needs to settle with the BIR tax liabilities that have reached P2.73 billion as of April 2014 - an amount that will incur another 20 percent penalty and a 25% surcharge if left unpaid by April 2015.
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