Kris is No. 1 individual taxpayer

MANILA, Philippines – Talk show host Kris Aquino emerged as the country’s top individual taxpayer in 2011, outdoing the big names in the local corporate world, according to data released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday.

The youngest sister of President Aquino, Kris (Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino in real life) paid P49.87 million in income taxes in 2011 to bag the No.1 spot on the BIR’s annual top 500 individual taxpayers list.

Aquino moved up the taxpayer ladder by 16 notches from 2010 with her numerous product endorsements and TV shows. She ranked number 17 a year earlier with P101 million in total taxable income and P32.3 million in income tax payments.

Former wife of professional basketball player James Yap, Aquino paid higher taxes than the country’s taipans and top corporate executives.

In second place was Gregory Reichow, senior vice-president of operations at Sunpower Philippines, with tax payments amounting to P38.2 million, followed by former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja Jr. who paid P34.25 million in income taxes.

Telecommunications magnate and head of the PLDT Group of Companies Manuel V. Pangilinan came in fourth with tax payments worth nearly P26 million.
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Two top executives from the PLDT Group also made it to the top 20 list – Smart Communications co-founder and former PLDT CEO and president Orlando Vea (P16.25 million) and MediaQuest Holdings president and CEO Ray Espinosa.

Executives from the Ayala Group of Companies likewise landed on the list. They are outgoing Bank of the Philippine Islands president Aurelio Montinola (P24.47 million) and Manila Water president Gerardo Ablaza (P22.64 million), occupying the fifth and sixth slots, respectively.

Businessman and diplomat Philippe Lhuillier landed in eighth spot with tax payments amounting to P21.64 million. Investment banker Roberto Panlilio came in ninth with P19.6 million in tax payments. GMA-7 executive Felipe Gozon ranked 10th (P19.59 million).

Henry Sy Sr., the country’s richest Filipino based on Forbes Magazine’s 2012 list of wealthiest people in the Philippines, ranked 15th with P16.58 million in income tax payments.

His son Hans Sy, who heads the family’s shopping mall operations, was the 22nd biggest taxpayer with P13.4 million in income tax, while daughter Teresita Sy-Coson occupied the number 83 spot (P8.3 million).

Tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, the second wealthiest man in the country according to Forbes, ranked 35th in income tax payments worth P10.78 million. He paid less than his lawyer Estelito Mendoza, who ranked 14th with tax payment of P17.63 million.

Businessman David Consunji, whose family is into water distribution, mining and real estate development, ranked 176th with tax payment of P5.9 million.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario – the only Cabinet official in the list – was 118th with P7.1 million in income tax payment.

Actress Solenn Heussaf (Cynthia Marie Adea Heussaf in real life), who is facing tax evasion charges, was the 99th biggest individual taxpayer.

Other celebrities who made it to BIR’s list were TV host and actor Vic Sotto, who was 19th with P14.72 million in tax payment; Derek Ramsey, who landed on the 120th slot (P7 million), and Wowowee host Willie Revillame (number 181 with P5.8 million in taxes).

Megastar Sharon Cuneta ranked 191st with P5.74 million in tax payments while John Lloyd Cruz landed on the 205th slot (P5.4 million).

Meanwhile, boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao occupied the 158th slot, paying P6.1 million in income taxes.

Former President Joseph Estrada ranked 490th, with P3.5 million in taxes.

Smart Communications, meanwhile, was the biggest non-individual taxpayer, remitting P10.23 billion to the BIR.

Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. came in second with P8.3 billion followed by oil firms Shell Philippines (P6.36 billion) and Chevron Malampaya (P6.3 billion). Nestlé Philippines landed fifth (P4.8 billion).

Completing the top 10 are San Miguel Brewery Inc. (P4.77 billion), Globe Telecom (P4.52 billion), cigarette maker Fortune Tobacco Corp. (P3.7 billion), Petron Corp. (P2.62 billion) and Philex Mining (P1.87 billion). –Zinnia dela Peña (The Philippine Star)