Taxes, smuggling and envy
Today, some 17 luxury vehicles (BMWs, Audi, high-end models of Toyota and Nissan, etc.) smuggled but caught in Subic were to be destroyed. These cars will not be auctioned off, but be destroyed. The reason: to show that the government is now more serious in its fight against smuggling and import tax evasion, no more compromises with smugglers.
When people have resources, especially from hard work and performance, they want to buy above-average and expensive goods and services. Like build a big house, buy modern and fast cars, buy latest gadgets and appliances, etc. So aspiring for "luxurious" things is a rationale behavior. It is aspiring for something, luxurious or not, when one doesn't have the means and resort to stealing and other criminal acts to get them, that is irrationale.
But government thinks there is something wrong when people would aspire to buy and drive modern and fast cars, especially imported cars. Hence, it slaps very high taxes (up to 100%, or 200%, of these cars' retail value, I'm not sure), sort of "luxury tax", to penalize whoever wants to drive those fast imported cars with high price, and use the money for the government's various social, political and economic services. Say more public school buildings and more pork barrel; more subsidized medicines and more pork barrel, and so on.
Those who want to drive those fast imported cars don't want to pay the high taxes, so they resort to bribing government officials in charge of administering importation and vehicle registration. On most cases, they succeed. On some cases, they fail. Like those 17 caught luxury vehicles. If the tax rates on those cars are not very high, or at least comparable to tax rates slapped on most, "non-luxurious" vehicles, then there will be less smuggling.
One can say that the temptation to smuggle those imported fast cars and bribe government officials to allow them to do so, is just an extension of people's rationale desire to acquire those things they want, so long as the resources they use to buy those things are from hard work.
On the other hand, the government policy of slapping very high taxes on imported "luxury" vehicles is driven not by reason, but by envy. Being "super-rich" is a crime and should be penalized with more taxes, so that the state will have more money for the poor and for the politicians.
Government can rationalize its tax policy to minimize smuggling by adopting a flat tax rate for imported cars (and all other goods), whether basic or luxurious ones. But it cannot expect to "eliminate" smuggling. Smuggling will only end if import tax is zero, and VAT and other taxes on imported goods is also zero, a move that government will not do at the moment, nor in the near future.
Meanwhile, all those high-profile moves to destroy the smuggled "luxury" imported vehicles are more a showcase of hypocrisy, not rationality.
When people have resources, especially from hard work and performance, they want to buy above-average and expensive goods and services. Like build a big house, buy modern and fast cars, buy latest gadgets and appliances, etc. So aspiring for "luxurious" things is a rationale behavior. It is aspiring for something, luxurious or not, when one doesn't have the means and resort to stealing and other criminal acts to get them, that is irrationale.
But government thinks there is something wrong when people would aspire to buy and drive modern and fast cars, especially imported cars. Hence, it slaps very high taxes (up to 100%, or 200%, of these cars' retail value, I'm not sure), sort of "luxury tax", to penalize whoever wants to drive those fast imported cars with high price, and use the money for the government's various social, political and economic services. Say more public school buildings and more pork barrel; more subsidized medicines and more pork barrel, and so on.
Those who want to drive those fast imported cars don't want to pay the high taxes, so they resort to bribing government officials in charge of administering importation and vehicle registration. On most cases, they succeed. On some cases, they fail. Like those 17 caught luxury vehicles. If the tax rates on those cars are not very high, or at least comparable to tax rates slapped on most, "non-luxurious" vehicles, then there will be less smuggling.
One can say that the temptation to smuggle those imported fast cars and bribe government officials to allow them to do so, is just an extension of people's rationale desire to acquire those things they want, so long as the resources they use to buy those things are from hard work.
On the other hand, the government policy of slapping very high taxes on imported "luxury" vehicles is driven not by reason, but by envy. Being "super-rich" is a crime and should be penalized with more taxes, so that the state will have more money for the poor and for the politicians.
Government can rationalize its tax policy to minimize smuggling by adopting a flat tax rate for imported cars (and all other goods), whether basic or luxurious ones. But it cannot expect to "eliminate" smuggling. Smuggling will only end if import tax is zero, and VAT and other taxes on imported goods is also zero, a move that government will not do at the moment, nor in the near future.
Meanwhile, all those high-profile moves to destroy the smuggled "luxury" imported vehicles are more a showcase of hypocrisy, not rationality.
posted by Bienvenido Oplas Jr | 7:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home