I refer to Doctors slam BIR ad: We’re not tax cheats by Jocelyn R. Uy and Michelle V. Remo both of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 4.
This concerns the “Bureau of Internal Revenue advertisement that appeared in the Inquirer on Sunday” that is deemed unfair by the Philippine Medical Association. PMA cries foul, but “the BIR counters that doctors should not take the ad personally and just pay taxes honestly.”
To quote from the said report:
“The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is crying foul over a tax campaign advertisement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that appeared in a newspaper on Sunday portraying a medical doctor as a tax cheat.”
Its president Dr. Leo Olarte said in a statement that the BIR ad seems:
“[T]o project to the entire nation through the trimedia that medical doctors are tax cheats per se is absolutely unfair…”
Mr. Olarte “was referring to the half-page ad, which was published in the Inquirer, showing a female doctor riding piggyback on a female teacher.”
The ad depicted that:
“The physician, a certain Marjorie Villena, who supposedly earned P1,075,080.52 paid only P7,424 in taxes while the teacher, a certain Carina Santos, whose salary amounted to P852,169.48, paid P221,694.23 in taxes.”
Further, said ad carried the message: “When you don’t pay your taxes, you’re a burden to those who do. Do your share. knowyourtaxes.ph.”
Lastly, “it reminded readers that the deadline for the filing and payment of income tax return was on April 15.”
Comment:
I cannot understand what the hell is the point or the issue of this so-called PMA? Why the hell are they crying foul? Where can you find the offensive remark on the said ad?
In fairness to the BIR, they did not say on the said ad that all doctors are cheaters or tax evaders or liars. In my view, what the ad is attacking are those who are members of the medical profession that are not fulfilling their duties to the government and not paying their correct and correspondingly tax dues.
Hence, if a specific doctor is upright, moral, ethical and a good citizen of this country and follows the law to the letter; would that doctor be offended by this ad?
Reason dictates to us and common sense is telling us that the obvious answer is a resounding no! Why? As already stated and answered squarely above: the ad is a shame campaign specifically and directly directed towards those thieves, brigands and heirs of Judas Iscariot!
Therefore, I cannot understand what’s the point of the PMA in making a big fuzz about this issue? What is the precise reason of Mr. Olarte’s overreaction to the BIR ad? Are they guilty of what the ad is trying to communicate to the whole of the Filipino people?
The Filipinos have a colloquial saying:
“Ungot ng ungot, baka naman kaya siya o sila ang umutot?”
A man who is honest and noble has no worries or concern, unlike a cheat and a hack! An honest man is immovable and indomitable, while a cheater and a fraud is hopelessly uncomfortable and utterly afraid!
Mr. Olarte said the PMA would not tolerate tax cheats among its ranks. As he said:
“[W]e will act immediately if these isolated cases can be brought formally to our attention.”
Comment:
Well, that is good to hear that they will not tolerate tax cheats among their ranks and membership, yet nonetheless, it seems to me that the PMA president is engaged in a contradiction.
Where is it? Let me show the reader then! Mr. Olarte said that they will immediately act if “these isolated cases can be brought formally” to their attention.
Question:
If those cases of tax cheats are merely isolated cases on their ranks, then, we return to the question above: what the hell is the basis or the ground of their crying foul? Why the hell they are hurt? Or is it the case that the truth hurts and reality bites really deep?
Let us say that for purposes of an illustration that, 10 % of their (PMA) members are tax cheaters, why the hell the other 90 % who are noble, honest, responsible and upright would be offended by the said ad?
The act of not issuing receipts
I concur with the Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares when she said that “doctors should not get hurt by the newspaper ad hinting rampant tax evasion among their ranks.”
The Commissioner also said that “the print ad was based on numerous complaints received by the BIR from individuals that their doctors were not issuing receipts.”
Further, and here’s the fine point of this whole matter the said “ad was also based on actual data collected by the BIR showing significant discrepancy between taxes paid by doctors and their estimated incomes.”
Sad but true, but that is the common perception of a great number of the people of this land!
The Right Thing to do
I overwhelmingly concur with the BIR Commissioner that:
“Instead of getting hurt, shouldn’t doctors who pay inaccurate taxes feel ashamed?”
Lastly, the PMA should not take the ad personally.
The medical profession is a profession that is impressed by public interest; hence, the members of this profession should not be onion-skin when it comes to criticism by any government agency especially of the people themselves.
Instead of crying like a baby with regard to this ad, the PMA must clean its ranks and improve the public image of the doctors of the country.
As citizens of the nation, it is part of their duty to pay the correct amount of taxes, because as we all knows, taxes are the very lifeblood of the government and it is precisely the very thing that we pay for civilized society.
To quote the immortal words of Justice Isagani Cruz:
“It is said that taxes are what we pay for civilization society. Without taxes, the government would be paralyzed for lack of the motive power to activate and operate it. Hence, despite the natural reluctance to surrender part of one's hard earned income to the taxing authorities, every person who is able to must contribute his share in the running of the government. The government for its part, is expected to respond in the form of tangible and intangible benefits intended to improve the lives of the people and enhance their moral and material values. This symbiotic relationship is the rationale of taxation and should dispel the erroneous notion that it is an arbitrary method of exaction by those in the seat of power.”
To the BIR
As a teacher myself, I would like to thank you for highlighting and affirming the known fact that we are one of the most faithful, truthful and diligent taxpayers of this country and that is despite the horrible fact and horrendous truth that our salaries are very low.
To quote from the statement of the Chairman of the Teacher’s Dignity Coalition, Benjo Basas:
“If the government is convinced that we teachers are heroes, then we deserved tax incentives, at least. We are at the bottom of income scale, along with other employees and workers, yet the government is dependent upon our taxes.
“Once and for all, the system of taxation should be revised to collect more from the rich.”
On this juncture, I am challenging you to extend your Tax Shame Campaign not only to us, to the doctors, to the lawyers and other professions but also attack and expose and shame those bloody bastard big corporations (whether private or public) and big businesses who are not paying their taxes, and worst a great number of them are tax evaders.
Bring them all to the bar of justice!
Let the hammer fall and let it fall heavily!
Jose Mario Dolor De Vega
Philosophy lecturer
College of Arts and Letters
Polytechnic University of the Philippines