“Reaction on BIR’s current system in terms of going after Tax Evaders.”
It is the duty of every Filipino to help and give what they could for the improvement and other project of the Philippines. One of our duties is to pay the right taxes. And it is just and right for our government officials to punish those who violate the law. For this past few weeks. I’ve heard a lot of new about some public figures who were caught as tax evaders. I also had the knowledge that BIR improved their system to go after those people who don’t pay their taxes. And I’m not against their improvements because I know that those taxes were able and will be able to help a lot of people. And it is just the duty of every Filipino who has the capacity to pay. But it has its limitations.
Just 2 days ago, I’ve read in the newspaper that BIR’s commissioner proposed to lift the bank secrecy law. To help them in tracking tax fraud. To force private individuals to open their bank accounts for government scrutiny is too much. I know the Henares is just doing this for taxation purposes. It may have a lot of benefit s like a better tax administration by eliminating fraud, misdeclaration, and concealment of income. But if there may be benefits, there will be costs too, including capital flight, loss of confidence in the banking system. This will also affect our economy in a negative way. I believe that there are more disadvantages than advantages. So I think that this proposal must undergo thorough studies before it can be approve.