A mockery of imposing new tax measures

As we experience the harsh realities and challenges this global financial crisis has put us through, many countries all over the world are beginning to take specific measures on how to safeguard their fiscal crisis.

Is the Philippines underpinning or undermining its fiscal crisis? Although governments and many politicians are always unwilling to admit to a fiscal crisis – the reality is that we need to be conscious about it. And in cases as such, the leaders seem to always call on the people to make sacrifices. Unfortunately for us Pinoys, we have had enough of their calls. Like the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, we do not believe anything they say anymore because we have seen so much lies and deceit, how much government has spent our money in careless ways and how much foreign funds have been corrupted for personal gain. Truly, we have not seen nor felt sincere public service – well, at least not in my generation.

The proposed tax on cell phone text messages is a clear scheme to force the people to submit to this new tax ‘demand’. It is a wise plan proposed by certain lawmakers to give the burden of inefficient and insignificant tax collection to the people claiming that all text message tax collected will go to the country’s education and health services budget.

Unlike the oil tariffs, the tax on text messages will be felt instantly by millions of Filipinos. Many will surely be against this measure because it will directly affect the people. Almost everyone in this country from Aparri to Jolo use cell phones. The cell phone has become a lifeline of the people and thanks to the telecommunication companies, they have made ‘connection’ possible in this archipelago to the rest of the world (for our OFW families). Don’t forget we have become the text capital of the world because more and more people (rich and poor alike) are able to use this service. So why take advantage of this simple technology that has helped our citizens especially our OFWs who spend so much in keeping in touch with their loved ones?

If the people witness the government’s honest, sincere and conscientious efforts in safeguarding financial resources from all the possible fields of collection then it will be fair to target the small fish on tax. But why target the small fish if you have not even caught any of the big fishes – the smugglers, the drug lords, the jueteng lords, the corrupt in government? Why make us pay for their sins?

A few years ago (1988 to 2005) the government shifted the burden of tax to indirect taxes, especially value added tax, another wise but dirty tactic. Why dirty? Because the government did not prove its efficiency to improved tax collection and more efficient means in controlling tariffs – instead, their urgent solution to a fiscal crisis was to add another tax measure – from the value added tax (VAT) to the expanded value added tax (E-VAT) law. Yup! The easiest way out to resolving a crisis is the imposition of more tax to the people.

The fiscal crisis that the Philippine government is presently undergoing is the worst ever in the history of the country, and is caused by its own doing. And yet the government continues to pass the burden of solving this crisis to the people, with increases in taxes and prices like those for electric power and petroleum.

What the government should do is to impose a firm curb on government spending in many sectors. Our legislators must study the statistics of the “crisis”, just how bad our fiscal condition is, and frankly, but quietly, discuss steps to deal with it.

The obvious “first aid” measure is to abolish their stupendous “pork barrel” fund which comes up to a whooping P21.4 billion. We’re not speaking of salaries, emoluments, office funds, operating expenses, or bonuses here, but “pork barrel.” Indeed the senators and congressmen are practically giving our money away in order to address the supposed “needs” of their constituents to sustain themselves for the next election.

If the “pork barrel” funds for all senators and congressmen were allotted for instance to education then the government does not have to impose that tax on text messages to the people. With this money we would be able to build classrooms and toilets needed in all public schools around the country, hire enough teachers and be able to pay them well, provide textbooks to all public school students and provide quality education. By allocating all these funds to education, and not doling out outrageous grants to alleged “educators”, we’d slowly begin to transform our nation from one of flickers and drop-outs into an educated, forward-looking, and upward moving citizenry. But the problem is that people are kept dependent and poor because that’s how these legislatures want to keep them. They don’t want to empower the people – so they stay poor. And to preserve their power and might they give dole outs instead – making the people beg all the time as if they are the gods who can solve all the problems that knock on their doorsteps. Many times the poor because of their ignorance think that the money comes from the politicians’ pockets – they forget that the dole outs come from Filipinos who work hard day and night, Filipinos who work abroad, Filipinos like you and me.

If all the 24 senators gave up their P200 million (per senator) each year, our budget deficit would begin shrinking. What about the 238 members of the House of Representatives? By the way, did you know that those elected by “party list” (including the leftist radicals) get the same benefits and the same “pork barrel” as a regular Congressman (P70 million per congressman a year) – so do not believe that these party-list representatives are ‘poor’, that is just a perception they want the public to get. They also need the “pork barrel” for political survival.

It has been said that the money has done more to encourage corrupt practices rather than deliver efficient service to the people. It has become the root of all evils. Legislators, instead of focusing on making laws to strengthen controls and security of the country’s interests, work on measures to protect their own personal or family interests and for the leftist radicals in congress to maintain the interests of some revolutionary groups.

As a matter of fact, they are even asking for an additional P2 billion this year. Imagine, how the Filipino taxpayer is picking up the tab for all these mockery?