Hi. I wrote this reflection paper yesterday for someone's class and I thought of sharing it here. This is about an article about taxing Online Barters. Also, I just want to say that I am not good in academic writing. Don't come after me for my bad writings. lol.
Link:
Is there a need to tax online barters?
This pandemic brought so many changes to our lives. It has changed the way we live and interact with other people. Quarantine restrictions made us feel that we are caged into an air-tight space where we could not move like how we used to.
So many doors have closed and some opened. Since the start of this pandemic, we have been searching for ways on how to survive and fill our tummy from day by day. Internet access paved the way to interact with each other. Online barters are common nowadays and it is seen all over the net. I, myself had the chance to exchange items with someone and it gave opportunity to help other people with resources. I exchanged goods for her shoes because I was in need that time.
Facebook marketplace is a feature of Facebook where you can post items for sale/swap without fee. Users would barter here their items with the same price or if not, according to what they have discussed with each other.
Should we tax online barters? I think that this should not be taxed since this is somehow a way of the Filipino thing called “Bayanihan" or in English “helping each other out”. This is an exchange of resources between commoners. As per Secretary Roman Lopez, said, of Department of Trade and Industry, “it depends. It depends on whether or not such barter trading is part of the regular course of business.” There are businessmen out there who earn tons of money by trading resources, the Government should focus to them.
A value-added tax (VAT) is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale. ... Value-added taxation is based on taxpayers' consumption rather than their income.
Source: Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Putting up VAT on online barters is like taking a portion of a commoner’s resources. In this time of pandemic, it is just right for the government to have sympathy on its people. And the ones that they should focus on more are the business tycoons that makes more money and has the greater contributions in the growth of our economy.
Final thoughts.
I have my fair-share of silently battling my problems and I would not let someone die out of hunger during this epidemic virus. COVID-19 relays a timely message to us that we should restore humanity in our hearts. You are not the only one who suffers in this time, we all are. May we not forget to help others that in need.
While writing this "reflection paper", I actually don't have a prior knowledge about taxation and how the economic industry works. I just voiced out what my heart speaks. Also, I altered some of the thoughts that I indicated in the original reflection paper.
I would appreciate if someone who has knowledge about how the Taxation Industry works comments on this article.
Let me ask you. Would you tax Acts of Kindness?
P.S. I know the reading time of this did not pass my reading time goal,but, I just wanted to share this with you guys since I spent time writing this. And I still don't have an article to post.
Fin.
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Lead image:
https://img.money.com/2021/01/various-hands-final.jpg?quality=60&w=800
Isa sila mama at papa sa nagtitinda sa facebook marketplace. Di ko alam kung anonh magiginh sistema ng bayaran ng tax incase na mapapatupad yan kasi most of the time on hand yung cash transactions. Kung hindi man, thru e-wallets. Pano sila magbabayad ng tax? Hindi ba't ang hassle? Wala talaga magawa gobyerno. Puro maliliit na mamamayan and dinadali imbes na mga malalaking tao na nagmamay ari ng malalaking kumpanya