SENATOR Dick Gordon’s "Wow Philippines" got a boost from the BIR genius who thought of a brilliant way of raising revenues from our country’s booming tourism industry. Whoever he is, he deserves the presidential medal of merit and instant admission to Mensa, the international high IQ organization.
It’s not that increased revenues will come from tourists who will be flooding from the first of May and thereafter.
Rather it’s the taxes that will be imposed on their handycams, cellular phones, cameras, watches, and other valuables, even if they are for personal use – usually called "personal effects."
Customs examiners currently collect an average of
R80,000 a day, or R2.4 million a month at the two international airports; now the BIR is targeting R1 million a day or R30 million a month. That translates to R360 million a year – if the tourists keep coming.
However, some people, particularly Customs examiners, are saying that taxing tourists for personal effects will actually discourage them from coming to our fair country.
They are wrong, the BIR genius will likely say, since the tsunami that ravaged resorts in Thailand and Indonesia has given tourists no other recourse but to make our country as their final destination.
They will not only gladly accept the imposition on their budgets but also wholeheartedly welcome the airport delays that will be caused by thorough examinations and calculations.
It’s a matter of simple arithmetic. Determine the daily quota, multiply by 30 or 31, and multiply again by 12. It doesn’t matter if tourists balk, the calculation remains.
The only problem is that other countries, in the spirit of reciprocity, might similarly tax Filipino tourists. We know how the average Filipino tourist hates to travel light. It’s not enough for him or her to go abroad with just a single watch, two pairs of shoes, a single bracelet, and ring on their person.
But since taxable items are those worth $350, BIR can get more from foreigners who land at our airports with Rolexes and Omegas, Ferragamos and Bulgaris.
Verily, there’s nothing like adversity to energize the windmills of our minds.
