VAT is not bad after all.

[cottonmouth]

---

i still strongly disagree w/ the vat.

both income tax and sales tax are already too high in this country.

yet, you don't see much improvement sa mga infrastructure, PUBLIC SERVICE, etc.

most of tax collected from us goes to the pocket of fat politicians.

Nobody would blame you if you don't like VAT because it is always good to received than to give: fact of life. However, I don't know where you are living coz if you say there is no improvement I would have to disagree.

Few examples will be the Ayala & Banilad Flyovers and The RO-RO ports to name a few.

[worldwide]

ok ra na ang VAT, ang problema lang kay daghan kaayo mga projects nga mas daku ang niadto sa bulsa kaysa project. ang gawas, substandard na mga projects.

[KE-25]

ok ra na ang VAT, ang problema lang kay daghan kaayo mga projects nga mas daku ang niadto sa bulsa kaysa project. ang gawas, substandard na mga projects.

Agree on substandard projects, hence some of it are rebuilt again and again and again like our roads.

[cdburgh]

Agree on substandard projects, hence some of it are rebuilt again and again and again like our roads.

mao na ila gusto, magsige repair tapal-tapal, walay kahumanan ang projects kay sige man ang commission kung naay project. nag usik-usik lang kwarta sa mga taxpayers.

[mo0nstar88]

what if we going to change the law for corrupt officials if true ang allegation for him "WELL EXECUTE HIM!"

[KE-25]

You responded to my thoughts, this should be a good exchange in ideas , educational

well, we can't do about it since we are at knees with IMF and WB ever since we borrowed money from them. That's why nowadays, we slowly wanting to be independent from the west by borrowing from China instead. and of course, the downside was the controversies going w/ it.

Very good, this is a healthy discussion. First phrase to your response , I agree we need to find ways to be able to stand on our own. In the meantime, yes we continue to pay whats due from loans.

the reality is, panahon pa nang mampor nahitabo oi. worst case was during Marcos regime. ang SOP lisod wagtangon coz sadly it's the lifeblood of our politicians. It is just a question of how to minimize it.

On your second response, lemme clarify, your saying because the reality of things is we are used to SOP since the time of Soso and that it is the lifeblood of the politicians it is okay? not okay? didnt see a point there, ok on a minimized form? and your saying the worst case happened during the Marcos time? I know its a very hard task to overcome, no doubt, there is corruption everywhere here or abroad. But the fact is, "it is Wrong", we all go to church and are given a gift of conscience, if I ask anyone is corruption right or wrong? what would u answer? we semi accept it because what can one citizen do or because it is the norm. But may I suggest looking at ourselves in the mirror and make it start with us as individuals? Its called Personal responsibilty as humans or Citizens. It doesnt get solved overnight, and yes it starts by minimizing it, we probably wont see it in our lifetime but if we do our little part by believing it can be done and rid the culture of being used to it then maybe. Solutions?, maybe teach our kids better values?

On the same phrase, regarding Marcos being worst, hmmmmm tht study in past page said 2004. With what ive read, heard, or estimated I believe latter wasnt the worst. I dont think you can fit more than 5-6 Billion dollars worth of cash in a plane to hawaii. Since you mentioned Marcos being the worst i'd like to see ur theoritical figures and compare just for info.
Is there a measure to previous administrations in terms of Public infrastructure done in the Past vs. Today ie Roads, bldgs. schools etc that show taxes being used. These figures may show he wasnt the worst.

yes, i do agree but it's not only political shortcomings but also financial and operational management shortcomings. It all started from Marcos time and unfortunately, we are still feeling the effects up to now.

Yes lets include Financial and Operational Management. If I may add Principle in the mix too.
Regarding marcos and effects, id have to say during the Aquino era we were given a fresh start to do things right and if done right we would not have this discussion right now. So from Aquino to current - was it done right?

Expanding the VAT to EVAT is one of the best solutions to our economy, though a hard decision to make and very unpopular. No questions about that.

On this part, in the interest of knowledge, Give me your reason why EVAT was needed and why VAT wasnt enough. I'd like to hear what u have to say. So your best solution is more Taxes? Or try to rid Corruption?

Thanks

[Princess08]

lageh oi.. VAT is not bad.. but atong VAT wala may padulngan!

-princess-

[sirius]

other countries kay 40% ang ilang taxes

[homeryap]

how i wish i could believe this ... but how can i see it as a reward if i'm paying for it

murag self-centered raman au ang imong panan-aw. rewarding kay what it did to our country's economy at the present when the global economy is in turmoil.

[giddyboy]

On your second response, lemme clarify, your saying because the reality of things is we are used to SOP since the time of Soso and that it is the lifeblood of the politicians it is okay? not okay? didnt see a point there, ok on a minimized form? and your saying the worst case happened during the Marcos time? I know its a very hard task to overcome, no doubt, there is corruption everywhere here or abroad. But the fact is, "it is Wrong", we all go to church and are given a gift of conscience, if I ask anyone is corruption right or wrong? what would u answer? we semi accept it because what can one citizen do or because it is the norm. But may I suggest looking at ourselves in the mirror and make it start with us as individuals? Its called Personal responsibilty as humans or Citizens. It doesnt get solved overnight, and yes it starts by minimizing it, we probably wont see it in our lifetime but if we do our little part by believing it can be done and rid the culture of being used to it then maybe. Solutions?, maybe teach our kids better values?

of course, it's not okay. I say it is wrong. I would not even want to say we have to semi accept it.

I was only saying that we should be realistic and pragmatic about the matter. Being idealistic is OK, but an excess of it (overly idealistic) would not.

Like i said, corruption on any country cannot be eliminated but only minimized to acceptable levels. We have to realize the fact that our corruption was deeply rooted and it would take time to clean our gov't. We have to realize that this can't be done overnight but step by step starting from our own selves.

On the same phrase, regarding Marcos being worst, hmmmmm tht study in past page said 2004. With what ive read, heard, or estimated I believe latter wasnt the worst. I dont think you can fit more than 5-6 Billion dollars worth of cash in a plane to hawaii. Since you mentioned Marcos being the worst i'd like to see ur theoritical figures and compare just for info.

World's Ten Most Corrupt Leaders
1. Muhamed Suharto - $15-35 B
2. Ferdinand Marcos - $5-10 B
10. Joseph Estrada - $78-80 M

and don't ever think money could only be stashed on a plane to Hawaii. think again...

Is there a measure to previous administrations in terms of Public infrastructure done in the Past vs. Today ie Roads, bldgs. schools etc that show taxes being used. These figures may show he wasnt the worst.

u can google our NSO site for that matter...

Yes lets include Financial and Operational Management. If I may add Principle in the mix too.
Regarding marcos and effects, id have to say during the Aquino era we were given a fresh start to do things right and if done right we would not have this discussion right now. So from Aquino to current - was it done right?

it's not that simple to say if it was done right or wrong. the fact that from Marcos, we changed presidents 4 times already.

IMHO,
during Aquino's term, it was done right maybe 50% only. and to add a number of coup d' etats.
during Ramos' time, it was done right maybe 80%.
during Erap's time, it was done right maybe 50% only (or even less). worse, he got himself into plundering and got convicted.
during PGMA' time up to now, maybe 80%. but add a number of controversies surrounding her.

On this part, in the interest of knowledge, Give me your reason why EVAT was needed and why VAT wasnt enough. I'd like to hear what u have to say. So your best solution is more Taxes? Or try to rid Corruption?

Thanks

i say BOTH. but more taxes as reasonable as can be like this EVAT. why VAT wasn't enough? well all i can say is that the economic think tanks can more properly explain that to you in detail.

but here's my take: EVAT was enacted in a bid to help the government raise revenues so that it could control the budget deficit, which occurred with alarming frequency with the government spending more than it earned.

so of course, VAT wasn't enough. of course, not everyone was happy about it.

But i would just like to see it as a long term effort to put our fiscal house in order.

the E-VAT is an important tool to manage the country’s long term fiscal position thus, making the country competitive and attractive to investors. Removing E-VAT will only cause more harm to the economy than good to the public.

“We need to understand that the E-VAT has been one of the reasons why we were able to sustain our economic momentum over the last few years; this has also been one of the important reforms that we have seen in our economy that has attracted investments and greater economic activity. Removing it for short term relief will not address the current problems we are faced with, as the high cost of fuel and food are global in nature and magnitude and we are just one of the many countries affected by these problems.

Ultimately, the basic premise of taxation has to go beyond collecting and increasing corporate and income tax. If we are to sustain our economic momentum amidst the global oil crisis, we will need to further study other tax alternatives; foremost in our agenda is the possibility of increasing ‘consumption tax.” --- Edgardo G. Lacson, PCCI president

"EVAT is a bitter pill to swallow to many but it is one of the taxes that puts the Phils on the global map, we are recognized as the Philippines with systems and means to be capable to the eyes of the Int’l community." (by jang2x, aug 2008, blogs.inquirer.net)