This is the third installment on my series highlighting this truly valuable little book.  Like the old saying, “Good Things Come In Small Packages”, this book impressed me as a great value for not only the intended Filipino audience but also for foreigners like me who live the Philippines, or are “married into” the Philippines, or both.

---

Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.

---

There are so many “things wrong” one sees on a daily basis that at first glance this seems almost like an empty “do the right thing because you should” sort of commandment

I mean we all know about things we “should” do, but being human we don’t always do them, so why should this “Little Thing” be important?

The cynical among us also will likely think, “Yeah, sure, demanding a receipt will just result in more taxes being collected, and we all know how crooked certain arms of the government are believed to be …ATBP”.

Well I’m no Pollyanna … there is corruption in the Philippines (and other countries too … as an American I always get a   laugh out of how many of my fellow Americans think the US is “Lily White” in that area … it’s not and I’ve paid the bribes to prove it, sadly) , but that aside, the reason that there may be some percentage of “bad guys” at one end of the government chain doesn’t excuse you being a “bad apple” at the start of the business chain.

Many citizens of all countries I am aware of are highly “anti tax”.     It seems as if it is not a matter of law or of conscience, but more of a game.  Let’s see how little I can scheme and even cheat to make the final tax bill as small us possible.  Well I don’t get my jollies paying taxes either.

But these same folk, especially when I have conversations with them about the Philippines are always lightning quick with the “suggestions or even blatant demands the “The government really, really needs to do something, tight now, about this issue or that problem”.

Fine, well and good.  It is the job of government to take action in many areas.  But there is one essential element to government taking action.  On item that virtually any solution or advancement scheme needs.  Yep, m-o-n-e-y.

Where can the government’s money to fix things come from if not for the people who can afford to spend something go ahead and kick in their fair share?   I mean if you are able to buy something, you ought to be able to pay the tax, correct?  if you don’t care to, why not keep the money in your pocket and save both the tax and the cost of the item.

There’s an old saying that was popular when I spent my years in the military.  “freedom isn’t free”.    Well, neither is progress my friends.  It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket.  You had over you 20 pesos or whatever with the hopes you might win a big prize.  But like as not you never win a thing and your 20 pesos just goes into the “wasteland” of broken dreams.

It’s no different than when you buy your box of KFC or your new computer monitor from the supply shop.  Will you ever see your few pesos of tax again, personally?  Odds are very much against it.

But if you don’t get an OR, the vendor is likely keeping your tax money for himself anyway … so not only do you “lose” the money you have paid against the tax, the government loses to … not even a lottery ticket chance of your hard earned Pesos helping out.

Makes good sense to me … what do you think?

Popularity: unranked [?]