What a laugh

Our favorite Arroyo brother, now Rep. Iggy Arroyo, is back in the news again:

WE can't help but admire the chutzpah of Rep. Ignacio Arroyo.

A consolidated bill providing for a tax amnesty requires all individuals with a net worth of P100,000 to file a statement of assets and liabilities. The statement is meant to serve as a baseline for revenuers, a census as it were, of taxpayers. Any growth in net worth can be presumed to be funded by income flow. It is simply a matter then of checking whether tax has been paid on the income.

There are legitimate reasons for opposing the provision. It would be an administrative nightmare. A net worth of P100,000 is nothing nowadays, so the people who would be affected would run into millions. It would be an effective way of flushing out untaxed wealth. But it has still to be shown that determining the value of net worth is administratively easier than directly tracing undeclared or under-declared income.

But Arroyo leading the opposition to the proposed submission of the statement of assets and liabilities? And on the ground of invasion of the privacy of the taxpayer? What a laugh.

This Arroyo is the same guy who stepped forward in last year's Senate investigation into the alleged hidden bank deposits of his brother, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, to claim he was "Jose Pidal," the name under which hundreds of millions were allegedly deposited.

Asked how he was able to accumulate the money, Rep. Arroyo took refuge in his right to privacy. Sen. Joker Arroyo (no relation), chairman of the blue ribbon committee, upheld Rep. Arroyo stand.

So until now, nobody has any idea how Rep. Arroyo, with a declared income of P10,000 a month, could have maintained the "Jose Pidal" accounts.

And isn't there a conflict-of- interest situation here? Had the provision passed, Rep. Arroyo would be forced to list down his "Jose Pidal" deposits. More, isn't he among the potential beneficiaries of the proposed tax amnesty if he had not paid tax on his income as "Jose Pidal?"

Rep. Arroyo should have kept his trap shut. He lacks the moral authority to talk about privacy and taxes.

Damn Right!