Despite winning $18 million on Saturday night (before taking into account Pay Per view sales) and tens of millions more on previous Saturday nights, Manny Pacquiao is borrowing money to fulfill a promise to support his native Philippines as it struggles to recover from Typhoon Haiyan, The Associated Press reported.
The IRS froze Pacquiao's bank account because it believes he owes $50 million in unpaid taxes from 2008-09. The world championship boxer and richest member of the Philippine congress claims he paid his dues already, according to The Associated Press.
"I appeal to them to remove the garnishment so that I can move and pay for my staff's salaries," Pacquiao told reportes in General Santos city, where he grew up. "I am not a criminal or a thief."
The 34 year-old southpaw was also investigated for unpaid taxes in 2010, but those charges were eventually dropped, according to the AP.
"The money that was garnished by (the Bureau of Internal Revenue) is not stolen," said Pacquiao, who wondered why he wasn't been arrested in the United States if the charges were legitimate. "This came from all of the punches, beatings, blood and sweat that I endured in the ring."
The IRS claimed Pacquiao hasn't offered real proof other than a letter from his promoter, Top Rank, and HBO, a document which Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares called "self-serving and a mere scrap of paper."
"What he can do is go to the IRS, ask IRS to certify this copy (of his tax payments) as a true copy," Henares said. "We have been waiting for that for two years."
Only two of the 22 banks supposedly carrying Pacquiao's money provided the IRS with any information; their figures totaled only $25,200 (1.1 million pesos).
"It is unbelievable to me that he has only 1.1 million pesos," Henares said.
Pacquiao has borrowed around $22,000 so far for disaster relief, according to the AP.
Could the IRS unfreeze his account, allow him to contribute to the typhoon cause, and then freeze it back?
