IT?S only a matter of time before pound-for-pound boxing king Manny Pacquiao returns to the top of the rankings?the top taxpayers? rankings, that is.
The eight-division world champion recently created a stir when Internal Revenue announced he ranked only 113th among the top taxpayers of 2009?way below his position in 2008, when he paid P125 million and went to the top of the individual taxpayers? list.
Pacquiao paid only P7.41 million last year, something that his handlers said would surely balloon once every centavo was accounted for.
Pacquiao?s lawyer Franklin Gacal, who also acts as the Sarangani congressman?s chief of staff, told the Manila Standard that the champion?s computation of his income was delayed because he changed his accountant.
?The income tax that Manny filed was tentative,? Gacal said.
?It didn?t include his universal income because he changed his accountant in America, so the new accountant?s computation of Manny?s income and expenses was delayed a bit.?
Gacal said Pacquiao?s finances in the United States were now being handled by Pepperdine University graduate Joseph Cabuhat, a specialist in US taxation, business development and marketing.
?Right now, what I know is they?ve finished, and they?re now finalizing the finances,? Gacal said.
?There were no penalties because we were able to file our income tax on time. What we didn?t finish was the exact computation of the figures.?
Gacal said once they?d submitted everything to Internal Revenue, Pacquiao would easily rate as one of the top 5 taxpayers at the very least.
?His ranking should be the same as the last three years?,? Gacal said.
?I don?t think his tax declaration will vary much.?
Pacquiao had two marquee fights in 2009, when he defeated British superstar Ricky Hatton and Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto in two separate blockbuster Pay-Per-View shows.
Several reports say Pacquiao easily made at least $30 million from those two fights.
