Pinay boxer hurt by Customs’ P6,000 tax on championship belt

A Filipina boxer felt hurt after learning that she had to pay an almost P6,000 tax to get her championship belt from the Bureau of Customs.

Sharing a post on her Facebook account, ONE FC fighter Jujeath Nagaowa expressed disappointment after finding out that the BoC imposed a P5,819.00 tax on her belt.

The 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, who won the international light flyweight title of the Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) in June, included the hashtag #realityhurts on her post.

According to the BoC's computation, Nagaowa's belt has a dutiable value of P20,147.15. She has to pay P3,022.00 for customs duty aside from the P2,782.00 value-added tax.

Nagaowa said she fought 10 rounds and agonized as she waited for her belt to arrive, only to be greeted by a breakdown of how much money she has to shell out to claim it.

"I gambled my life for a lifetime treasure that others may take over my throne but can’t take this crown," she said.

The BoC is under fire recently for their policy of checking contents of Balikbayan boxes for taxable items, earning the ire of Overseas Filipino Workers and their families over social media. —NB, GMA News