IT seemed the tax issue hounding Manny Pacquiao has now stretched all the way to the United States.
A report by FightHype.com said a levy has been placed on the US bank accounts of the Filipino boxing superstar by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which amounts to around US$18.5 million.
Although no reason was mentioned on why the bank accounts are being levied, the move came at a time when Pacquiao is facing serious tax evasion charges in the home country for his alleged failure to pay the corresponding taxes for all his fights between 2008 and 2009.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is going after the 34-year-old boxing icon for unpaid taxes that reached P2.2 billion including interests and penalties, leading to a freeze order on the bank accounts of the congressman from Sarangani province.
Both Pacquiao and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes the eight-time world champion, denied the allegations, insisting all of the taxes were duly paid in the US.
FightHype.com tried to confirm the tax levy imposed on Pacquiao’s US accounts, but a representative from the IRS media relations office said, “Under the federal tax law, federal employees cannot disclose tax return information.”
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