By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has revealed that Manny Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz had established a company in the United States through which some of Pacquiao’s bills in America are paid.
ABS-CBN’s Las Vegas reporter Bev Llorente told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard that she had spoken to Arum who defended Koncz insisting that he had “nothing whatsoever to do” with the current tax problems of the “Fighter of the Decade” and insisted that “the problem is with the politics being played in the Philippines” and that the BIR had “picked on the wrong person.”
Arum confirmed that Koncz “owns a company called EDK but everything is under Pacquiao’s direction.”
He told Llorente that the company “pays a lot of Manny’s bills in the United States so we, from time to time make payments to that company at Manny’s instructions.”
As an example Arum said that “if we have to send Manny $1 million we may send $50,000 to EDK so Michael can pay the bills. That’s what we do because its only under the instructions of Manny because Manny is in the Philippines and he can’t come over here and pay his own bills.”
The Top Rank promoter insisted that if Pacquiao didn’t may his taxes and declared all of his earnings in the US for the years 2008 and 2009 Pacquiao wouldn’t be able to fight in the US because the IRS would have their eyes on Pacquiao.”
Arum appealed to the BIR to “forget that Manny Pacquiao is a national hero, forget that he may oppose the administration currently in the Philippines, just treat him like an ordinary citizen. We have given you the proof, the absolute proof that the money Manny claims was paid to the IRS (the Internal Revenue Service).”
Meantime, the Court of Tax Appeals has prohibited Pacquiao and the BIR from talking about the tax suit filed against Pacquiao, the newly crowned WBO International welterweight champion.
Presiding Justice Roman Del Rosario at Thursday’s hearing directed both sides to stop talking to the media to avoid further confusion. The Tax Court also denied it issued a freeze order on billions of assets of Pacquiao.
FightHype's Ben Thompson wrote on his site "that sources close to the information have informed us that the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] recently placed a levy on bank accounts in Manny Pacquiao's name in the United States and according to one source, the amount of the levy is upwards of $18.5 million. When contacted for a statement on the issue, a representative from the IRS media relations office simply replied - 'Under the federal tax law, federal employees cannot disclose tax return information.'"
Pacquiao's adviser Michel Koncz told BoxingScene/Standard "we do not owe $18 million" even as he asked us for the source of the information.
At the same time Koncz said "we have very reputable and respected accountants and tax lawyers working for us since we dismissed Vision Quest more than two years ago."