For sure this short blog will elicit anger back in the Philippines. The premise is simple: the Pinoy will pay taxes (income, property, sales, inheritance, etc.) only when it can't be avoided. He's not unique. Every civilized country that has a taxation system (no matter if lenient or confiscatory) experiences tax evasion.
Only the gainfully employed who get paid through a payroll system the BIR can examine pays taxes! Both government and private employees can't escape this obligation. The same with property owners and the very wealthy who pass on their riches to their heirs. Purchasers of high ticket items can't avoid it either. The lowly vendor in the public market does not issue receipts but he/she pays a fixed tax to the market inspector.
Majority of retail stores pay sales taxes but the sari-sari stores do not! The tricycle driver, the colorum internet cafe operator and the sidewalk peanut vendor don't give a hoot about taxes, honey!
You buy a car from a dealer, you pay all the taxes, right? You want a sports car through the smuggling back door - you better have a padrino in Customs who'll "calibrate" the taxes due on the car!
The only income tax the Pinoy is not obligated to pay is the tax on government-sponsored lottery winnings! Not so here in America - that $200 million jackpot dwindles down to just a little bit over $100 million after State and Federal taxes are collected.
Do farmers pay taxes? A little but it's based on the land rather than on the harvest.
Now the 64-peso question: why does Paquiao (according to posts in Facebook) have offshore bank accounts? Your guess is as good as mine!
Now we go back to the premise: does the Pinoy love to pay taxes?
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