ACT-7 slams BIR ad

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Region VII Union criticized the Bureau of Internal Revenue for its latest tax campaign advertisement focusing on the doctors in Cebu and Davao.

Antonia Lim, ACT- 7 president, said that the latest ad is allegedly trying to agitate teachers to be up against the doctors for not paying the right taxes.

Lim instead urged BIR Commissioner Kim Henares to go after the big businessmen.

“Ngano man ang mga employees man gyud ang initan sa BIR? Ang mga gagmay nga mga professionals dili mga milyonaryo,” Lim said.

According to Lim, the BIR should go after the big businessmen here and abroad rather than auditing medical professionals.

She added that the current taxes of public school teachers become a burden because the current legislation on tax exemption is yet to be amended.

“We want that all teachers, as frontliners in the public service, be exempted from (paying) tax,” said Phoebe Zoe Sanchez, the union’s secretary.

Lim said that the last time public school teachers got salary adjustment was in 2008. The union is calling Henares to support House Bill 247, which seeks to adjust the personal tax exemption, so as to make it responsive to the needs of the times.

“The latest BIR ad only shows that teachers are burdened by taxes. And our taxes go to corruption while we have big businesses who are tax evaders,” Lim added.

The BIR in its advertisement stated that three out of eight doctors in Cebu and Davao declared less income tax dues than the average public school teacher.

In the same advertisement, BIR stated that the lowest declared income tax due in 2012 by the 2,825 registered doctors in Cebu was P24.50 while P19.00 in Davao City’s 2,406 registered doctors.

An average public school teacher paid an income tax due of P27,360.00.