A FEW nights ago, I was busy filling out my income tax return, which is due tomorrow, April 15. My son was asking me how much I have to pay, and why I even need to pay when the government isn’t using the money well. You see, my son, who’ll be 13 soon, is very much aware of what’s happening in the country, and knows about the ZTE-NBN scandal, the Piatco fiasco, and all the other events occurring on the political front.
So why pay taxes when there is much corruption? I have heard this line before. Someone indeed asked me a few years back why we have to pay the right taxes when it will just be misused anyway.
Well, what would happen if we don’t pay the right taxes? The teachers in public schools may not even get their meager salaries at all. Patients in government hospitals may not find one doctor or nurse to attend to them. The potholes in the roads may get big enough for cars to fall into. Traffic lights may get busted and not replaced, or worse, there won’t be any more policemen to direct traffic. Senior citizens in places like Golden Acres may have no more place to run to.
Some two thousand years ago, some men also asked Jesus, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” The Lord asked for a coin, showed them whose face was on it, then said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22: 17, 21).
So, do your duty and pay the right taxes. What happens to the taxes after we’ve remitted it is up to the government; the leaders will be held accountable for that.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I have never had a problem paying tax, the problem I have is when I see my Government wasting Billions on needless and never ending wars. I hate to see my hard earned money go to waste.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:56 am
What some don’t realize that it’s usually the upper class who has the option to NOT pay taxes. Ordinary employees get the taxes deducted from their pay, and they have no choice but to let it be deducted. So unfortunately, people earning 12k lose that valuable few thousand pesos to the tax man while the rich businessmen get away with “saving” millions or so in taxes. It is totally unfair.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:20 am
option 1.
if people dont pay taxes..and money actually runs out. we will have mass anarchy. possibly in the worst case it would be survival of the fittest. a bloody change to the philippine social strata
option 2.
get out of the country. that way you can still pay your bills and not pay philippine taxes. you;d be paying the host country taxes but since you are new to the country, you would not be fully aware of the corruption going on. much easier to bear.
option 3.
just pay your taxes and watch most of the 32% of your income go to waste.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
How true… and it is up to us to make them accountable for our hard earned money. That’s why we should not fail to demand transparency from every project the government gets itself into. Even the pork barrel should be accounted up to the last centavo. Or even abolished
I can’t help but be angry seeing my beloved congressman having coffee on a 5 star hotel using my tax money while i try to bring baon for lunch just to save.