Institutionalised #tax fraud in the #Philippines, a country pretending to be poor!
Nobody ever wants to pay tax, but especially when tax revenues are simply stolen by politicians ( 30% is the conservative estimate of lost tax revenue to corruption in the philippines, and a further 30%+ potential revenue is the opportunity loss from those who pay no tax in the first place), so Kim Henares may seek favourable publicity by chasing a few small fish/political adversaries, and distasteful/questionable adverts, but she is doing little to fundamentally change the culture, or the system itself, and it is akin to shooting baby alligators, but doing nothing to actually drain the swamp itself.
The issue in the Philippines, like almost everything else, boils down to culture, corruption, and incompetence.
The bottom line – people will only pay taxes, albeit reluctantly, when they see some practical benefits/investment/improvements in services, and trust their government to manage finances judiciously, not fill up their personal offshore bank accounts, and when there is an efficient integrated system to minimise opportunity of tax avoidance.
Kim Henares needs to put her own house in order first.
The extent of the problem is highlighted by the fact that the 500th highest individual tax payer in the whole country pays a paltry 6 million pesos. (Equating to circa 24 million pesos income!! – that is 500,000 $. – hardly big bucks, and hardly credible) – the 1000th highest earning tax paying individual gets about the same as my annual pension! Incredible! A rich country pretending to be poor.
Kim Henares should publish a tax list of senators/congressmen and journalists, and check out cabinet members building 60 million peso houses on 60,000/month salaries. Lead from the front, enough of PNoy Aquino being in the rear.
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