The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) made this paid
advertisement that appeared in several national newspapers last weekend I
think.
Posting below some comments by doctors expressed in
facebook, posted on my friend Dr. Jed Inciong's fb wall, except those from change.org petition and Dr. Calimag. My own discussion at the end. Other posters/images are also posted in fb,
copy-pasting them here.
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(1) Change.org Petition (around March 2, 2014, initiated by Minerva Calimag)
The medical profession and all physicians are always portrayed as tax evaders by the BIR. The recent BIR Ad that appeared in the Manila Bulletin is certainly discriminatory of the medical profession. Many of us physicians pay our taxes diligently...should the indiscretions of a few be invoked to penalize the entire medical profession? Many physicians also work in the countryside and they are often overworked and compensated less...this overgeneralization on the part of the BIR certainly maligns the medical profession. We demand that the BIR retract this Ad and issue a public apology in all newspapers for this act.
(2) Butch
Tamesis, March 4, 2014
This picture shows the PHYSICIAN in general as a burden
to the TEACHER, a representative of the MASA. I wonder if the BIR has really
thought about this carefully? BIR is actually inciting the masa to revolt
against the doctors and blame them as the cause of their poverty. PAMPABIGAT
KAMING MGA MANGGAGAMOT SA MGA MAHIHIRAP!
Does BIR honestly believe this? I will not repeat what my colleagues have said already against the BIR, but just enlighten you about my sentiments.
In plain language, I am saddened by your portrayal of me as a burden to the society. After so many years of hard work, and sacrifice to help Filipinos (in general), I now live comfortably, able to sustain my family's needs. And this is how you treat me, as a burden to society!? My parent's left me with a wonderful name, a name I am constantly taking good care of. After my father died, the clinic he left was in shambles as his practice had diminished since he got sick. My sisters and I slowly picked up the pieces and built it back to its old glory. The taxes we pay the government ( yearly business tax, machinery tax, real property tax, tax on improvement, garbage tax, sanitation tax, fire and hazard tax), monthly SSS, Philhealth, Pag-Ibig contributions, VAT (not ours anyway since we collect it for the government) is so much that we barely have savings for the clinic on infrastructure improvements.
My clinic is a medical clinic, not a business enterprise,
and yet the instruments to make my skills viable is taxed so much that I have
no way of recovering the cost unless I charge my patients for its use. A lot of
times I don't charge my patients since they cannot afford it. Medicines I
prescribe are also taxed exorbitantly by government (i thought the government
is pro people?). Electricity and water, and my gasoline expenses have been
constantly going up. I am forced to buy electric fans and air conditioners to
make my patients comfortable. That adds to my cost of electricity. And you
Commissioner Henares and the BIR look at me as a burden to society???!
I have nothing else to say to you, no threats, no dirty
finger, no nothing. At my senior age, I am no longer as violent as I was when i
was younger since I saw the futility of being a hot head. I am done with that.
But I would HUMBLY and RESPECTFULLY ask you to take a second look at this
disgusting picture you have portrayed my profession to be. Please take it back
because it slaps every physician (guilty or not) on the face. Prosecute these
erring physicians, businessmen, lawyers, etc. but please, do not generalize
because even JOSE RIZAL OUR NATIONAL HERO IS ALSO GETTING THE HEAT.
My comment comes from the heart, and I feel it every time
I read it. Considering the amount of time I spend treating and caring for my
patients, sometimes to the point of giving them free consult (in the clinic, by
text, or by phone call anytime of the day,or by email) and medicine if they
cannot afford it, I get this distasteful ad from BIR. I cannot NOT take it
personally!
And the comments of some people against the doctors also
hurt. But it does not matter. What matters most is one, our guilty colleagues
must change their ways, and two, BIR must also take it back.
(3) Jed Inciong,
March 3, 2014
Much like the persecution of jews in Nazi Germany. Our
Doctors are being made "whipping boys" and scapegoats for a flawed
income tax collection system. Our physicians are being portrayed as
contemptuous cheaters.
All said, it pains me to admit I may have made the wrong
choice to stay and practice medicine here in my beloved "Inang Bayan"
katangi-tanging Pilipinas!
Ninais na manilbihan sa mga kababayang nangangailangan, kahit na higit na mas malaki ang kikitain sa ibang bayan. Dahil sa pagmamahal sa Bayang tinubuan!
Ninais na manilbihan sa mga kababayang nangangailangan, kahit na higit na mas malaki ang kikitain sa ibang bayan. Dahil sa pagmamahal sa Bayang tinubuan!
(4) Leo O. Olarte, March 3, 2014
An open letter to all Filipino doctors
PMA against BIR
My dear colleague in the medical profession. The medical professionals are under attack from no less, the BIR.
The callous categorization of the BIR of medical professionals as tax evaders is both contemptuous and distasteful. There is no justice to the saying “the end justifies the means”. If BIR wants to collect more taxes, this is not the way to do it.
Admittedly, it is the obligation of all Filipino citizens to pay the right taxes. A good proportion of doctors do pay the correct taxes. I do not see the BIR acknowledging and praising these individuals. If a few individuals are falling short of what is expected of them, it cannot be used to make a sweeping statement and smear the name of the medical profession.
In all honesty, the BIR is misleading the public. A tax evader can be anyone, a tax evader has no face. a tax evader can have any profession. Miss Henares, Mahiya ka naman sa mga doctor na nagbabayad ng tamang buwis. Sa mga taxpayer na nagbabayad ng sweldo mo. We do not deserve this kind of treatment from a government employee whose salary comes from the taxes we remitted to the government.
The Philippine Medical Association will look into the proper way to counter this attack appropriately, legally and more effectively. In the next few days, i will ask the doctors from the different component society to stand beside PMA in fighting this contemptuous portrayal of the Filipino doctors.
In unity, we have strength!!!
Atty. Leo O. Olarte, MD
President
Philippine Medical Association
PMA against BIR
My dear colleague in the medical profession. The medical professionals are under attack from no less, the BIR.
The callous categorization of the BIR of medical professionals as tax evaders is both contemptuous and distasteful. There is no justice to the saying “the end justifies the means”. If BIR wants to collect more taxes, this is not the way to do it.
Admittedly, it is the obligation of all Filipino citizens to pay the right taxes. A good proportion of doctors do pay the correct taxes. I do not see the BIR acknowledging and praising these individuals. If a few individuals are falling short of what is expected of them, it cannot be used to make a sweeping statement and smear the name of the medical profession.
In all honesty, the BIR is misleading the public. A tax evader can be anyone, a tax evader has no face. a tax evader can have any profession. Miss Henares, Mahiya ka naman sa mga doctor na nagbabayad ng tamang buwis. Sa mga taxpayer na nagbabayad ng sweldo mo. We do not deserve this kind of treatment from a government employee whose salary comes from the taxes we remitted to the government.
The Philippine Medical Association will look into the proper way to counter this attack appropriately, legally and more effectively. In the next few days, i will ask the doctors from the different component society to stand beside PMA in fighting this contemptuous portrayal of the Filipino doctors.
In unity, we have strength!!!
Atty. Leo O. Olarte, MD
President
Philippine Medical Association
(5) Minerva
Calimag, March 4, 2014
Rising above the din...
Allow me to capture the collective voice of the physician community:
Allow me to capture the collective voice of the physician community:
1. We are not against the person behind the law but we decry the system under which the law operates. Let us simplify and improve the system of taxation in our country so that we eliminate the middle-persons. Lots of middlemen exposes the system to corruption.
2. Physicians...let us know our rights! Visit the BIR website so we will know our rights.
3. The first rule in advertising is "Do not insult". Advertisements intended to shame do just that...they hurt sensibilities. Advertisements such as this ought to be subject to media censorship as well! Attention: ADBOARD
4. Let us educate and not hate...we should come to a dialogue with the BIR. BIR come talk to us! The physicians are HURT...BIR come HEAL us!
(6) Paolo Palad,
March 3, 2014
I did some research and used a little math to make sense
of the BIR's shame campaign on doctors:
Number of active physicians according to the Philippine Medical Association - 70,000 (PMA President)
Average annual tax that should be paid by a doctor according to the BIR Commissioner - 100,000 Pesos (Inquirer.net)
Percentage of doctors who are tax evaders according to the BIR Commisioner - 90% (Inquirer.net)
So, this would mean that the estimated government income lost to "erring" doctors amount to 6.3 Billion Pesos annually (assuming of course that the tax evading 90% pay absolutely nothing in taxes)
In contrast, the amount lost to graft and corruption in government every year? 460 Billion Pesos (Manila Times) which is 20% of the annual budget
Percentage of annual budget lost to tax evading doctors? 0.27%
So the 0.27% lost to doctors who do not pay proper taxes qualifies the entire medical community as a "burden" to our good teachers and just about every other honest and hardworking Filipino. This justifies vilifying medical professionals by spending 176,000 pesos per day per newspaper title to pay for advertisements that portray doctors as crooks. (Manila Bulletin)
Number of active physicians according to the Philippine Medical Association - 70,000 (PMA President)
Average annual tax that should be paid by a doctor according to the BIR Commissioner - 100,000 Pesos (Inquirer.net)
Percentage of doctors who are tax evaders according to the BIR Commisioner - 90% (Inquirer.net)
So, this would mean that the estimated government income lost to "erring" doctors amount to 6.3 Billion Pesos annually (assuming of course that the tax evading 90% pay absolutely nothing in taxes)
In contrast, the amount lost to graft and corruption in government every year? 460 Billion Pesos (Manila Times) which is 20% of the annual budget
Percentage of annual budget lost to tax evading doctors? 0.27%
So the 0.27% lost to doctors who do not pay proper taxes qualifies the entire medical community as a "burden" to our good teachers and just about every other honest and hardworking Filipino. This justifies vilifying medical professionals by spending 176,000 pesos per day per newspaper title to pay for advertisements that portray doctors as crooks. (Manila Bulletin)
Want to know why the Philippines is poor? Why healthcare
is substandard? Why education is laughable? Why mass transportation is
dangerous and inefficient? The BIR says, "Sisihin po niyo ang mga
tax-evading doctors na siyang pahirap sa lipunan!" (It seems that whoever
authorized this shame campaign is quick to forget how during one of the worst
calamities to hit the Visayas region, the medical community was one of the
first to organize and respond to help our countrymen. For free. No questions
asked. Long before our government could stop fighting among themselves on what
to do, who to blame, and more importantly, print stickers to put on their
relief goods.)
How about these fellows in government who pocket 460 billion pesos in taxpayers money every year? No full page ads? No public smear campaign? No dog-with-a-bone like tenacity to collect the people's money? Our leaders suggest the following as appropriate:
1. Glorify these politician's names on overpasses, schools, roads, etc that your money (not theirs) paid for
2. Send them to the best hospitals while they are in trial for plunder
3. Build them air-conditioned resort style luxury prisons when they get convicted
4. Allow their convoy access to private subdivisions
5. Call them your honor
6. Spend 100,000 pesos every time they are transferred from prison to a court hearing
7. Re-elect them
8. Elect their wives, children, cousins, helpers etc
9. Spend for their police escort and allow them to disregard traffic rules
10. Give them first dibs on cars smuggled through customs
11. Send their children to Ivy league schools and throw them parties in Hollywood courtesy of tax payers
12. Treat them like royalty. Anything short of bottling their flatulence and wearing it as perfume is considered unacceptable.
I pay my taxes properly. Most of my colleagues do as well. It is also a fact that some doctors don't. Just like some businessmen, lawyers, accountants, architects, and even the common sari-sari store owner. Go after these people by all means. Prosecute them to the full extent of the law. But to use taxpayer's money to stereotype medical professionals as crooks and as a burden to our countrymen when we damn well know that the biggest thieves are in government is just deplorable. Shame on you, BIR. Shame on the lot of you.
P.S. Sana yung perang ginamit sa walang kwentang ad na ito ay pinangdagdag sahod na lang sa mga butihin nating guro. Kung may alam po sana kayo ng kaunti tungkol sa behavioral psychology tulad naming mga doctor, malalaman po sana ninyo na ang mga negative ads na ito ay hindi epektibo sa ninanais ninyo. Ayon sa mga dalubhasa, mas epektibo po ang positive re-inforcement sa pagbago ng collective mindset. Ibig sabihin, ipakita sa taong-bayan na may katuturan ang pagbayad ng tamang tax dahil ito ay hindi ninanakaw at napupunta sa mga makabuluhang adhikain na panglipunan. Something like, "Pay your taxes. We assure you that the government will not steal it and will use it for the benefit of every Filipino." On second thought, good luck with that campaign.
How about these fellows in government who pocket 460 billion pesos in taxpayers money every year? No full page ads? No public smear campaign? No dog-with-a-bone like tenacity to collect the people's money? Our leaders suggest the following as appropriate:
1. Glorify these politician's names on overpasses, schools, roads, etc that your money (not theirs) paid for
2. Send them to the best hospitals while they are in trial for plunder
3. Build them air-conditioned resort style luxury prisons when they get convicted
4. Allow their convoy access to private subdivisions
5. Call them your honor
6. Spend 100,000 pesos every time they are transferred from prison to a court hearing
7. Re-elect them
8. Elect their wives, children, cousins, helpers etc
9. Spend for their police escort and allow them to disregard traffic rules
10. Give them first dibs on cars smuggled through customs
11. Send their children to Ivy league schools and throw them parties in Hollywood courtesy of tax payers
12. Treat them like royalty. Anything short of bottling their flatulence and wearing it as perfume is considered unacceptable.
I pay my taxes properly. Most of my colleagues do as well. It is also a fact that some doctors don't. Just like some businessmen, lawyers, accountants, architects, and even the common sari-sari store owner. Go after these people by all means. Prosecute them to the full extent of the law. But to use taxpayer's money to stereotype medical professionals as crooks and as a burden to our countrymen when we damn well know that the biggest thieves are in government is just deplorable. Shame on you, BIR. Shame on the lot of you.
P.S. Sana yung perang ginamit sa walang kwentang ad na ito ay pinangdagdag sahod na lang sa mga butihin nating guro. Kung may alam po sana kayo ng kaunti tungkol sa behavioral psychology tulad naming mga doctor, malalaman po sana ninyo na ang mga negative ads na ito ay hindi epektibo sa ninanais ninyo. Ayon sa mga dalubhasa, mas epektibo po ang positive re-inforcement sa pagbago ng collective mindset. Ibig sabihin, ipakita sa taong-bayan na may katuturan ang pagbayad ng tamang tax dahil ito ay hindi ninanakaw at napupunta sa mga makabuluhang adhikain na panglipunan. Something like, "Pay your taxes. We assure you that the government will not steal it and will use it for the benefit of every Filipino." On second thought, good luck with that campaign.
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From this report,
"Citing BIR data, Henares said that out of the
estimated 1.7 million professionals registered with the PRC, only about 400,000
were registered with the BIR as taxpayers."
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/.../what-went-before-birs...
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/.../what-went-before-birs...
And how many of those 1.7 M doctors are now abroad, or
retired, or migrated to the after life? I am sure both PRC and BIR do not have
that data. Basta lang demonize and collect.
Maybe the doctors and other professionals will be open to
the possibility of large-scale income tax cut, a low, flat tax, leading to abolition of income
tax. Government has lots of taxes to live on -- VAT, excise tax, documentary
stamp tax, franchise tax, travel tax, vehicle registration tax, capital gains
tax, final withholding tax, etc.
And the various regulatory fees. Passport fee, terminal
fee, driver's license fee, birth certificate fee, marriage certificate fee,
death certificate fee, burial fee (cradle to grave fees).
And royalties from extractive industries like petroleum,
gas and mining. Government royalties collection from Malampaya natural gas
field for instance runs into several hundreds of billions of pesos.
And the mandatory contributions to some huge government
corporations: SSS/GSIS + PhilHealth + PagIBIG.
And the various
LGU taxes and fees: real property tax, residence tax, business permit
tax, health and sanitation fee, etc.
The BIR should actually be ashamed that it is collecting
too many taxes than what citizens are willing to pay. Tax evasion/dodging is
legally wrong but economically correct. It allows the people to keep more money
in their pockets, money out of hard work and efficiency, not out of robbery.
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See also:
Tax Cut 13: Remove the Excise Tax on Oil Products, July 04, 2012
Tax Cut 14: APTU Meeting in Bangkok, March 1-2, January 22, 2013
Tax Cut 15: Some Resistance to Reducing Personal Income Tax, May 04, 2013
Tax Cut 16: Conserving Fishery Resources by Taxing Demersal Fish Catch?, May 27, 2013
Abolish Income Tax 8. From low flat tax to zero income tax, September 30, 2011
Abolish Income Tax 9: Tax Revolt Against Government Corruption, September 29, 2013
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