“The three most important ways to lead people are: by
example… by example… by example…” (Albert Schweitzer, German theologian)
“Setting an example is not the main means of
influencing others, it is the ONLY means.” (Albert Einstein)
“What you are, speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you
are saying.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Forbes reported, “When former President George W.
Bush, Clinton, and Obama announced, they would receive their Covid-19
vaccinations on camera to help bolster public confidence in getting the shot, the
three men provided business executives with a timely reminder about the
importance of leading by example.”
DQ CASE
As PDInquirer reported, it is about a complaint filed against
Marcos Jr. before a Quezon City court – he breached the 1977 Internal Revenue Code
when he failed to file his income tax returns from 1982 to 1985 and failed to
pay his income taxes. The Quezon City court in 1995 found Marcos Jr. guilty and
imposed nine years imprisonment as a penalty. The court also directed Marcos
Jr. to pay the fine for his failure to file his income tax returns and pay his
taxes.
The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals which,
after two years, affirmed the lower court’s ruling and ordered Marcos Jr. to
pay the deficiency income taxes due with interest – a total of P36,000 fine.
Marcos Jr. took the case to the Supreme Court but
eventually withdrew it making the decision of the Court of Appeals final and
executory.
Marcos Jr. filed his COC to run for president where he
declared his eligibility. He answered “no” to the question if he has been found
liable for an offense that carries the penalty of perpetual disqualification to
hold public office.
The Comelec division dismissed the petition to cancel
Marcos Jr’s COC which the Comelec en banc affirmed.
Taking the case to the Supreme Court, the petitioners
said the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it refused to cancel
Marcos Jr.’s COC – void, in fact, from the beginning.
FALLOUT
There is more to this crucial case being deliberated now at the Supreme Court than meets the eye. Presently, for my wife and
I, not only is this case about Marcos Jr. becoming our country’s next president
or not, but also how the aftermath will affect us as citizens of this country.
The following paragraph I had written in my past
Atabay article “Trust Is the Foundation of Any Relationship” showed our being
dutiful tax-paying corporate workers.
“Many years ago, I worked in a manufacturing plant;
she, in a bank. After we got married, we started filing our joint income tax
returns. Sad to say, our combined withholding taxes would always fall short in
our joint income tax due. Out of our civic duty, we paid the difference from
our hard-earned savings. We did it yearly until the computerization perfected
the system: our combined withholding taxes added up to our required joint
income tax, hence, preserving our hard-earned savings.”
This year, as retirees, we would be paying again our
annual real property taxes. For many
years in the past, as law-abiding citizens, we always have paid our real
property taxes even long before the deadline so we could avail ourselves of the
discount to reduce the amount slashed from our pensions.
What’s more, my wife inherited from her parents a
piece of agricultural land that has accumulated a chunk of unpaid taxes. The
inherited land could not yield then enough coconut harvests to cover both the
household basic needs and the payment for the annual taxes.
Today, honestly, as far as the payment of our taxes is
concerned, we are in “stand-by” mode. Hanging out for the resolution of the
case, we are watching like a hawk how the civic duty of the citizens in paying
or the failure in paying taxes will be adjudged by our Supreme Court – the
highest tribunal, the authoritative guardian, and the final arbiter in the land
for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution ensuring the
Filipino people the promise of equal justice under the law.
GOLD STANDARD
“May
gatas pa sa labi” our
Pinas vis-à-vis our big brother, U.S.A.
What is the common denominator among these three people? Walter Anderson, the
executive, Al Capone, the gangsta, and Wesley Snipes, the “Blade” star. They
are among the Famous Tax Cheats listed by Investopedia.
The largest tax evasion in U.S. history, the Anderson
case was about the former telecommunication executive accused of hiding his earnings
through the use of aliases, offshore bank accounts, and shell companies.
Entered a guilty plea and admitted to hiding approximately $365 million worth
of income, Anderson was sentenced to nine years in prison, and restitution of
$200 million.
Ganged up in a mixed bag of illegal acts like bootlegging,
prostitution, and murder, Capone earned $100 million a year. It took a single illegal
act that landed him in prison – income tax evasion. Interestingly, the removal of
the word “lawful” from the 16th Amendment in 1916 put criminals like
Capone in a bind: they could either admit breaking the law and file taxes
(essentially confessing) or cheat on taxes. Picked the latter, Capone was
sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Allegedly hiding his income in offshore accounts and
failing to file his income tax for several years, Snipes, the “Blade” star,
incurred a federal tax debt of around $12 million. Although acquitted of felony
tax fraud and conspiracy charges, he was found guilty of misdemeanor charges
that put him in prison for three years only, while his accountant,
interestingly, was sentenced to 10 years.
While the U.S.A. put their celebrity tax evaders in
prison, sad to say, our top tax evader we elected to become our next president.
IRONY OF IRONIES
If Marcos Jr. becomes president, the unpaid
P203-billion estate tax his family owes the Philippine government is “gone
forever,” according to retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
“[BIR] will collect that if you are an ordinary person,”
Justice Carpio said. “But if you are a government official, you are a senator
or governor, they will not collect it. How much more if you are now president?”
That reminds me of the “Queen of Mean” hotel operator,
Leona Helmsley, who accumulated a multi-billion dollar real-estate portfolio in
the U.S. She was accused of billing millions of dollars in personal expenses to
their business in order to evade taxes. She served 18 months of federal prison
time. Her infamous words: “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay
taxes.”
Onli
in da Pilipins!
Chilling out a bit, what can be more tranquilizing in
ending this knotty article than the Beatles’ song, “Taxman.”
One, two, three, four
One, two, (one, two, three, four}
Let me tell you how it will be
There’s one for you, nineteen for me
‘Cause I’m the taxman
Yeah, I’m the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don’t take it all
‘Cause I’m the taxman
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