Pacquiao lawyer slams tax reports, says Manny to resolve IRS issue

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao’s US lawyer on Thursday labeled as “inaccurate” the reports claiming that the boxer owes over $18 million in unpaid taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In an article by RingTV.com’s Lem Satterfield, lawyer Steven Toscher questioned the accuracy of several reports about Pacquiao owing the IRS money and said that their camp is already in the process of putting things in order.

Entertainment website TMZ first reported that Pacquiao owes the IRS a total of $18,313,668.79 in back taxes for his fights from 2006 to 2010. The website, citing “official documents” it reportedly obtained, even included an annual breakdown of the back taxes.

Toscher said everything is now being sorted out by the fighting congressman’s financial advisers.

"Manny and his financial advisors are handling the situation and have no comment other than to say the disclosure of Manny's personal tax information is wrong, the recent stories contain serious errors, and Manny is committed to working with the IRS to resolve any outstanding issues,” Toscher told Satterfield.

Pacquiao’s reported brush with the IRS comes at the heels of his rift with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which claimed the boxer owes the government $50 million in taxes from 2008 to 2009. This led to the agency moving to freeze Pacquiao’s local bank accounts.

Regarding the IRS issue, Pacquiao insisted everything is fine, saying his promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc. takes care of his tax responsibilities each time he fights in the US.

“Bayad na ni Bob lahat ’yun. Kinakaltas ’yun. Diretso sa IRS ’yun. Sa bawa’t laro ko andun ang IRS, nakatutok sila. Inaabot ni Arum yung tax (Bob paid it all. It’s deducted, and goes straight to the IRS. Each time I fight, the IRS is there),” he told Filipino sports website Spin.ph on Wednesday.

He maintained that he has nothing to hide and is unfazed by the issue.