Palace: Making Pia winnings tax free up to Congress

Some lawmakers' push for measures to exempt Pia Wurtzbach from paying taxes for her winnings may have found support from Malacañang.

Internal revenue czar Kim Henares may not like it, but Presidential Communications Undersecretary Manolo Quezon III said on Saturday that "Congress has the power to exempt the Filipino pride Miss Universe Pia ... all our reactions would be more power to Congress if that’s what they decide."

In an interview on state-run dzRB, Quezon said "Alam niyo po it’s been four decades and talaga namang may mga iilang bagay lang ang nagyu-unite sa ating lipunan and I think success like this [Pia's] is one of them.

Quezon was referring to the question seeking Palace's reaction on the move of some lawmakers to free Pia's winnings from taxes.

Pia's victory at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant was a "day of national pride," Quezon said, adding "Nakikita naman natin that she’s a worthy ambassador of the country and speaks very well."

Asked if Malacañang supports the lawmakers' move, Quezon said "Well, ‘yan ang kapangyarihan ng Kongreso and I’m sure they are thinking of the maximum benefit for all of us."

Pay your taxes

"Pay the right taxes" upon coming home, this was Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares' reminder to Pia on January 18 (Monday).

Henares expects the beauty queen to pay taxes for the prizes she won in last month's Miss Universe pageant. These include $300,000 in cash (around P4.1 million), a modeling contract, annual monthly salary, a scholarship, among other prizes.

The BIR said Pia would be due for the maximum 32 percent rate for these, as well as all her other income for 2015.

"Ipinapatupad lang naman namin ang batas," Henares was quoted as saying last Monday by GMA News' Rida Reyes.

Under the the Tax Code of the Philippines, the country has a tax treaty with the United States. This means that the taxes she would pay in the US would be deducted from her tax bill in the Philippines. Still, Pia needs to make sure she has certification for these.

Some lawmakers are pushing for measures to exempt Pia, the country's first Miss Universe since 1973, from paying taxes on her winnings. This was the case for former beauty queen Gemma Cruz-Araneta, who was given tax exemption by Congress after winning the country's first Miss International Title in 1964. — LBG, GMA News