The constitutional dimensions of taxes on balikbayan boxes

As Justice Louis Brandeis eloquently described it, the right to privacy or the right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of right and the right most valued by civilized men.

This right was fervently quoted by netizens in different social networking sites because of the regulation of the Bureau of Customs to randomly open the balikbayan boxes that overseas contract workers send to their loved ones in the country. The more stringent rules on balikbayan boxes ensure that tax cheats or technical smugglers do not escape the taxing arm of the government. Looking past the hype, curiosity must also strike a balance by placing the State’s power to tax into the equation.

One of the non-revenue purposes of the power of taxation is protectionism, which is an economic policy of restraining trade between states through the imposition of custom duties in order to protect local products, industries and jobs from foreign competition. Present-day smugglers use balikbayan boxes to evade the payment of taxes on imported products they ship to and intend to sell in the Philippines. Most of these imported products are sold at a low price compared to those which are sold in the malls. In order to address this pressing concern, the Bureau of Customs empowered its timely zeal of advancing protectionist policies through the implementation of stricter rules on balikbayan boxes.

In writing this article, I was reminded of the view of Ralph Linton, an American anthropologist who authored the book “The Individual, Culture and Society,” that “to belong to a society is to sacrifice some measure of individual liberty, no matter how slight the restraints which the society consciously imposes.” Is the right to privacy one of those individual liberties that must be sacrificed? I believe so.

While the Constitution is the great bulwark of liberties and rights, these liberties for all their plenitude are not unconfined. As Justice Malcolm puts in a stroke of a pen, “liberty is freedom to do right and never wrong; it is ever guided by reason and the upright and honorable conscience of the individual.”

Overseas contract workers have the liberty to send goods and gifts to their families in the Philippines. However, they cannot capitalize this liberty in order for them to deter the government from ensuring that the protectionist policies are not circumvented. As long as they comply with the conditions provided under the Tariff and Customs Code and the limitations on the value of the contents of the packages, their balikbayan boxes remain to be tax-free packages. Therefore, the worry should begin only when their non-compliance starts.

The other side of the story will reveal a question on implementation. If the balikbayan boxes will be opened, can the government ensure that custom officials will not steal the goods and items found inside the balikbayan boxes? If there were lost items, will the custom officials be held accountable? Will the Bureau of Customs warrant the transparency of the inspection procedures? The answers to these questions fall beyond the domain of the right to privacy and State’s power to tax.  Although legal dictum expresses that these matters cannot be used to turn the tables on the government, overseas contract workers are not left empty handed. They have the equally valuable right to seek redress against the erring officials. My only hope is that Bureau of Customs will guarantee that the concerns of the complainants are properly addressed. — Christine Angelica B. Elvena-Carantes, Oracion Barlis & Associates, Baguio City