LTO to share database with BIR

In an attempt to track down suspected tax cheats, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has proposed sharing its database on some 4.3 million motor vehicle owners with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). According to LTO chief and Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Anneli Lontoc, the agency is set to give the BIR "absolute access" to the LTO’s database, saying that a lot of the information will be useful in spotting possible tax cheats. "One really has to wonder why a person can have four or five expensive cars registered in his or her name, and yet pay only so little in income taxes," Lontoc said. Negros Oriental Congressman Herminio Teves lauded the move, saying that ownership of at least one car means substantial income, and the ownership of several means a lot of income. Teves, who is author of House Resolution 154 which requires all applicants for motor vehicle registration to submit copies of their latest income tax return, said that it is possible that some of these car owners may have not declared the source of their income to the BIR. While the effort to come after tax cheats is laudable, many are apprehensive that sensitive information contained in the LTO database might fall into the wrong hands and be used for criminal activities.

Unfair bank practices

Spybiz is receiving more complaints from disgruntled depositors regarding the unfair practices of banks. According to one reader, his daughter-in-law opened a savings account with a local bank in Iloilo City, at the time when the minimum required deposit was P3,000. The depositor subsequently left for New York to work as an OFW, leaving a bank balance of P7,000. Imagine the surprise of the depositor, therefore, when, upon inquiry this year, she found out that her balance is now a little over P1,000 because the bank had been deducting monthly penalties for more than two years from the account for falling below the required minimum balance of P10,000. According to the reader, his daughter-in-law never received any notice about the increase in the required minimum balance. All the bank did was to post the notice at its premises – which the depositor could not have seen because she was in New York. Gone are the days when banks were required to send bank balances every month to depositors, the reader lamented.

Beware of smuggled processors

A Spybiz informant warned that an unscrupulous person is peddling smuggled Intel Pentium 4 processors at a very low price. While the items are genuine, they are not backed up by warranty and thus could prove problematic later on. The person is also allegedly into other illegal activities, and his base of operations is somewhere in the vicinity of V. Mapa and SM Centerpoint. While it may be tempting to buy branded items at slashed prices, it’s still safer to buy from reputable and licensed retailers. As they say, better safe than sorry.

Non-paying pre-need company

Our pre-need Spy-ring reported that this pre-need company named after a frosty looking metal has not been paying the salary of its employees since April this year. That’s on top of the December 2004 salary and 13th month pay the company owes them. As if to live to its cold, metallic name, the management reportedly gives "P500 cash advance" to the rank-and-file employees to prevent them from totally going ballistic. As for SSS, Philhealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, our Spy-ring says only the pregnant employees’ contributions are updated so they can avail themselves of the benefits when they give birth. While planholders’ gripes and claims are being attended to because company officials dread even more unfavorable publicity, the employees and their families are quietly suffering because of this company’s irresponsibility.

Where did the money come from?

Speaking of pre-need companies, observers are wondering at the news that a family that owns a pre-need company has entered into a partnership with a Chinese developer to put up a Philippine center in a world-class resort being built in a lake city near Shanghai. The project, which is supposedly the first joint venture between the Philippines and China in the said area, will reportedly showcase the Philippines as an attractive destination to potential Chinese tourists. Those in the know, however, are raising their eyebrows in incredulity, wondering where the money to put up such an ambitious project came from, considering that the pre-need company has allegedly been experiencing financial trouble lately.

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