
MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – When newly-crowned Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach sets foot on her native Philippines, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will be waiting for her at the VIP lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airpoirt (NAIA) in Manila.
The tough-talking tax woman, Kim Henares, is eagerly awaiting Wurtzbach’s return from New York where the beauty queen is currently doing some photo shoots and social events sponsored by the Miss Universe Organization.
Henares wanted to personally make sure that the appropriate taxes are collected from Wurtzbach.
The new Miss Universe crown reportedly costs $300,000. Weighing 411 grams, the crown has 33 Bohemian crustals, 5 large blue topaz stones, 198 dark blue sapphire stones, 311 diamonds, and a base made from 18-karat white gold.
Henares estimates that the tax due from the crown will be about 30% of the cost, or $90,000. In local currency, that would amount to almost 4 Million pesos.
“That would be a big boost to the government’s treasury,” Henares said.