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Philippines, 04 May 2024 |
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CALLOUS & WHIMSICAL REGIME? By Aquiles Z. Zonio PhilBoxing.com Sun, 05 Apr 2015  IT?S not at all mind-boggling why the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has miserably failed to collect the right amount of taxes from so-called the high and the mighty. Are they afraid? The answer is a big no! Scoundrels galore in almost every nook and cranny of BIR offices ? from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi -- and, to my mind, this is the real reason behind. The national government remains inutile in addressing corruption in the BIR despite the much-ballyhooed anti-corruption campaign launched by the Aquino regime. Not all but many of the tax men are in cahoots with big time taxpayers in defrauding the government. You see, BIR is making life so hard for small individual taxpayers while it allows billionaires to cheat to their hearts? content. My mole inside the BIR office told me that each crook has a tag price. As to how much, I don?t know. Maybe, just maybe, BIR commissioner Kim Henares has an idea. Henares must prove to all and sundry that her campaign to purge BIR of undesirables is not just a lip service or a mere hoopla. As the way things unfold, I could say there?s more to BIR?s ineptitude in collecting taxes than meets the eyes. Let?s take a closer look at the 2014 records of the BIR. Boxing demigod Manny Pacquiao was on top of the list. Pacquiao paid around P163.8 million in income taxes last year. Next in line was Juanito Alcantara (P99.6 million) and legal luminary Estelito Mendoza (P73 million). Where are the likes of Henry Sy Sr., Lucio Tan and John Gokongwei? We are not saying these three business tycoons are not paying the correct taxes to the government. But, do you think Pacquiao is richer compared with these three business moguls? I poured over the BIR?s list of the country?s top 500 individual taxpayers and found out that mall magnate Henry Sy, Sr. was listed number 85, paying just P18.5 million in taxes; tobaco and airline tycoon Lucio Tan was number 142 with P13.3 million; and John Gokongwei was far down below at number 298 with around P9.3 million. In the 2014 Forbes? list of top 50 richest Filipinos, Sy was on top with $12.7 billion; Lucio Tan was next with $6.1 billion and John Gokongwei Jr. was fifth with $4.9 billion. Pacquiao was not even included in the list. How come he was the top individual taxpayer? BIR must review closely the books of accounts of these businessmen. But Henares is so much like her boss ? callous and insensitive. Remember the Hongkong tourists? bus hostage-taking and the Mamasapano debacle? These two tragic incidents clearly showed P-Noy?s ineptitude in handling a crisis situation. These fiascos unmasked what kind of leader P-Noy is. P-Noy hails from the Oligarchy. He has no heart for the masses. P-Noy has never experienced going to bed bedeviled by an empty stomach. P-Noy never understands the perils and discomfort of sleeping on bare concrete sidewalk. P-Noy has never felt the pain of witnessing a loved one died of illness without seeing even a phantom of a doctor. P-Noy administration through Henares has been persecuting and disrespecting our boxing hero despite bringing honor and pride to the country. During the time of former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo, BIR was accepting without question the electronic copies of IRS documents submitted by Manny Pacquiao. P-Noy?s whimsical and capricious regime refused to recognize Pacquiao?s IRS documents. BIR wanted it authenticated by the IRS. Stupid thing like ?certified xeroxed copy? is done only in the Philippines. It wasn?t Pacquiao?s fault why the submission of IRS documents was delayed in 2008 and 2009. BIR imposed fines and penalties despite appeal from Pacquiao to give him ample time to secure original copies of the documents. By the time the original copies of IRS documents were released, Pacquiao?s tax liabilities had already surged to astronomical level due to penalties and surcharges. Pacquiao is not backing off instead he has decided to put up a good fight. He said his conscience is clear and he is not ducking any tax liability with the government. The Aquino regime laid bare its vindictiveness and gaucherie by trying to distract, destroy or humiliate Pacquiao. Courtesy, once again, of uncouth BIR chief Kim Henares. Either she?s afflicted with crab mentality or trying to steal the limelight by putting a good man down. No dice! While her boss is becoming the most unpopular, if not the most hated, political mammal in the country, Pacquiao is endearing himself more to people from all walks of life, local and foreign alike. At the time when Pacquiao needs moral support especially from our national leaders, here comes a presidential myrmidon uttering disheartening statement. Can?t she just shut her mouth up? Coming from a high government official at that, the statement smacks of insensitivity if not envy. I still believe that to achieve reforms in this country, we need a president with a strong political will and someone who is genuinely God-fearing. P-Noy, sad to say, is devoid of these virtues. He has no political will and he?s far from being genuinely God-fearing. From this day on, P-Noy must choose the right people around him. Say goodbye to crooks and undesirables, but keep intact the essential ones. He?s old enough to know a hawk from a handsaw. ?Absolute power corrupts absolutely,? so the saying goes. Either P-Noy gets rid of the skunks in his circle or ends up destroying the presidency. Good that Pacquiao has totally shut down his doors vis-?-vis the outside world. He?s not listening even to television newscast. His focus is solely on his training. He has never been so focused in his fight. He has never been so determined in winning the fight. Just now? Some skeptics say conquering Floyd Mayweather Jr. is next to impossible ? a pipe dream. Have you failed to notice Pacquiao?s conquest of the impossible? Things that often occurred only in our illusion and daydream? Pacquiao is a relentless fighter atop the ring. He would relentlessly pursue his dream of being the only fighter to beat Mayweather. The whole nation ? just never mind P-Noy and Henares ? is behind you in praying for your safety and victory. PHOTO: PORTRAIT of a dogged & unperturbed warrior. /Photo by Aquiles Z. Zonio. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Aquiles Z. Zonio.  |
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