Ang taas na nga ng Gasolina, dadagdagan pa ng E-VAT

Ogags talaga ang administration na ito.

Sino pa ba ang makaka-afford na bumili ng mga bagay-bagay kung itataas pa ang buwis natin?

May kikitain pa ba ang mga small businessmen if they price their products to high because of additional taxes?

Neal Cruz:

The expanded VAT will raise the prices of everything to levels beyond the reach of the poor. Then watch the angry masses get together to kick Ms Arroyo out of Malacañang. We are seeing the start of this gathering storm in the many -- though still relatively small -- protest rallies in urban areas. We are seeing and hearing this in the angry faces and voices of the poor. But who wouldn't be angry if his or her family is hungry? In fact, even middle-class families will find themselves unable to make both ends meet, and they, who have kept away from the rallies so far, will eventually join in the storming of the presidential palace.

You don't raise taxes in the midst of poverty, when the price of oil is skyrocketing. A leader would be pretty stupid to do that. A leader who does that deserves to be kicked out on her butt. The price of fuel has a chain effect on the prices of everything else that is transported and requires the use of electricity.

A sensible leader will, in fact, ease taxes during such times to provide the people relief. Leave the people with more spending money and they will boost the economy as they buy more of the goods produced by factories that will, in turn, produce more and pay more taxes. Take more money out of them in the form of taxes and the economy contracts; factories will close shop and lay off workers, and people will suffer and get very angry.

Hindi lang mahihirap ang matatamaan dito. Pati ang mga small at medium-sized businesses, baka magsara na dahil sa additional taxes ng Arroyo admin.

Cruz adds:

How will the government get funds to support itself? Do the same thing that prudent families do when their income drops. Cut on spending and do away with the non-essentials. Plant "camote" [sweet potato]. Try to earn extra income somehow without violating the law.

If the government abolishes the wasteful and corrupt pork barrel system, it will save tens of billions of pesos. If it cuts all government allowances by just 20 percent across the board, it will save billions of pesos more. If it collects the fines from drivers and pedestrians who violate traffic rules, it will be able to collect additional billions of pesos. What's more, it will restore sanity in the streets and save billions of pesos in oil bills being burned by all those vehicles creeping along in the traffic and polluting the air. If it plugs all the holes in the tax collection system and jail the tax collectors pocketing collections, it will earn more and save more. There will be no need for the expanded VAT.

The expanded VAT is the lazy man's solution to the problem of lack of funds. Instead of collecting the tax himself, the government forces others to collect it-like it does in collecting the withholding tax and the excise taxes on liquor and tobacco.

I agree. The problem with Arroyo's so called "reform" is that it only involves increasing our taxes, pero walang spending cuts... ayaw bawasan ang pork barrel ng Malacanang at mga Tongressmen at Senatongs.

Tapos napaka-corrupt pa ng gobyerno na ito. Aside from diverting some of our government money to pidal accounts, she also used our tax money last year to help her cheat in the 2004 elections.

And now she is doing it again to buy off jueteng witnesses, congressmen's support in her impeachment case, and fund those so-called "pro arroyo" rallies.