BIR may probe tax liabilities of 'Pajero bishops'

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) might look into the possible tax liabilities of bishops who received luxury vehicles from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said Thursday. “There may be some tax issues and this is something that we can look into," Henares told reporters in a media conference at the Department of Justice. Particularly, Henares said the BIR may run after the bishops for tax liabilities if the Church leaders used the vehicles outside their religious duties. “If it was for the individual, there might be some tax implication," Henares said. PCSO chairperson Margarito Juico said that then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo used the agency’s funds to give seven luxury vehicles to bishops before she ended her term in 2010. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/224886/nation/senate-panel-summons-pcso-execs-to-39bribe39-probe On Wednesday, a Senate investigation revealed that one Church leader, Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, received a sports utility vehicle from the PCSO after making request with the former President. — PE/VS, GMA News