BIR: Kris Aquino, Smart top taxpayers

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III's celebrity sister, Kris Aquino, is the country's top taxpayer, based on the list of the top 500 individual taxpayers released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Monday.

According to the BIR report, the "Queen of All Media" paid a total of P49,871,657.37 during the taxable year 2011.

Tesla Motors executive Gregory Reichow followed Aquino as the second biggest taxpayer, having paid over P38.1 million, while senior diplomat and former Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr. landed in third place with the payment of over P34.2 million taxes.

Broadband and mobile group Smart Communications, Inc., meanwhile, was the top among corporate taxpayers charged with P10.2 billion by the government.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) paid P8.3 billion in taxes while oil giant Shell Philippine Exploration retained its 2010 third-place ranking with P6.26 billion worth of taxes.

Top 10 taxpayers:

1. Kris Aquino (media) - P49,871,657.37
2. Gregory Reichow (Tesla Motors executive) - P38,196,685.00
3. Lauro Baja, Jr. (senior diplomat) - P34,257,368.88
4. Manuel V. Pangilinan (mining and telecommunications businessman) - P25,992,131.86
5. Aurelio Montinola III (Bank of the Philippine Islands president) - P24,472,645.10
6. Gerardo Ablaza, Jr. (Manila Water, Co. chief) - P22,645,262.00
7. Philippe Jones Lhuillier (Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop chain chief) - P21,645,000.00
8. Victor Manguerra Angeles - P21,202,815.34
9. Roberto Panlilio (Investment banking company JP Morgan executive) - P19,613,943.97
10. Felipe Gozon (GMA Network chief) - P19,587,983.60

Top corporate taxpayers

1. Smart Communications, Inc. - P10.235 billion
2. Manila Electric, Co. (Meralco) - P8.3 billion
3. Shell Philippines Exploration BV - P6.386 billion
4. Chevron Malampaya LLC - P6.31 billion
5. San Miguel Brewery - P4.886 billion
6. Globe Telecom, Inc. - P4.775 billion
7. Philip Morris Fortune Tobbaco, Inc. - P4.522 billion
8. Petron Corp. - P2.62 billion
9. Philex Mining Corp. - P1.876 billion

In 2010, Aquino was only the 17th top taxpayer in the country, with construction businessman Vicente Tan Lao topping the list. Splash Corporation exec Rolando Hortaleza and artist Carlo J. Caparas followed in second and third places.