You’ve probably heard it all too often. With billions of dollars in annual remittances, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been lauded as heroes of today’s Philipipne economy. True enough, the money they continuously bring in helps bolster our economy as a whole, as well as giving their families a better chance at a bright future.

Another industry has been lauded as a dominant enterprise in the country today in bringing in a steady source of income. Some prefer to call it the call center industry, although business process outsourcing (BPO) might be the more appropriate term. One thing is common between OFWs and the BPO industry: they bring in a good flow of money from outside the country.

There is a third group, though, which I think is just as important if not too well-known: “netrepreneurs” or freelance professionals who do their business online. Who doesn’t know a writer, a blogger, a photographer, a web developer or designer who earns good money from doing projects for clients, both here and abroad?

These are independent individuals, mostly working off of their own computers and broadband connections, many of which are highly mobile. They can be students, they can be part-timers, they can be running small businesses full-time.

It’s a point somewhere in between being an OFW and being in the BPO industry. You don’t need to go abroad to earn money, and yet you don’t need a big, established company to offer outsourced services. Professional work is done, and good money is paid. Good money is spent, therefore helping bolster the domestic economy.

Much of this industry constitutes what can be called an underground economy. Much of freelancing activity is often an unstructured affair. We prefer not to have overhead costs, such as office space, utilities, administrative staffing, and the like. This poses some advantages and disadvantages that I think might have merit looking into.

Flying under the radar. I cannot speak for everyone, and statistics are quite difficult to obtain at this point. However, I can say that a lot of freelance online workers and professionals are probably working under the radar of our government’s revenue generating institutions. In short, my kind may be a bit lacking in terms of paying taxes.

True enough, everyone pays taxes—especially indirect taxes. Each time you buy a notebook computer, you pay taxes. Everytime you pay your DSL bill, you pay taxes. Whenever you buy a cup of Latte or a can of coke, you also pay taxes. But I believe the government may be missing out on a big opportunity here.

Many freelance professionals and online entrepreneurs would probably balk at such an idea of paying direct taxes. For many, this is exactly why they choose to go under the radar. Parting with a big chunk of one’s monthly salaries to tax withheld is no easy thing. However, paying taxes does have its benefits, though. Declaring a reasonable income in your ITR would be helpful were you to apply for a loan with a bank, for instance. This would also be a something that embassies would find to your advantage when applying for a travel documents. Paying social security taxes might also be helpful during times of emergency. The benefits seem to balance out the nominal cost of having to pay some portion of one’s income.

Dealing with red tape. The big issue here, however, is the process by which an online entrepreneur can go legit. Based on accounts and experience, one has several options, which include incorporating, declaring income as a self-employed professional, or establishing a sole proprietorship.

These would obviously entail some cost, in terms of registering with the appropriate government agencies. But the bigger task would, of course, be dealing with the bureaucracy. Would hours or days spent waiting in line to have one’s documents processed be worth it? How about the documentary requirements? How can one produce documents such as local permits, receipts, and the like?

As I see it, both the BPO industry and OFWs have an adequate support structure. You have government agencies watching out for the welfare of OFWs. You have laws against illegal recruitment. You have business alliances helping out BPO companies set up shop. Your neighborhood graphic artist probably doesn’t have that level of support. Neither does the high school student whose website probably earns more from AdSense and affiliate links than your average office employee.