Image: Instagram/@aikomelendez
Actress Aiko Melendez lamented how small business owners and online sellers are apparently being stripped of their right to earn decently as the government moves to tax online selling.
“My heart goes to all the negosyantes, who [are] trying to make a decent living by selling online, Nothing wrong we are in a middle of a crisis po,” Melendez said on Instagram yesterday, June 22.
“It is not right na tanggalan ang mga taong ito ng karapatan na kumita the best way they can (It is not right to strip these people of their right to earn the best way they can),” she added.
Melendez also pointed out how she often accepts gifs from different online stores and share them via Instagram Stories to support them.
“So pls everyone na me business [I] ask you to say your piece on my chat. And pls know that [I am] behind you on this cause… For as long as it’s not stealing, your products are good then there shouldn’t be a problem,” she emphasized.
“Sayang wala na ako sa Qc kaya di ko mas maipaglaban kayo, kaya sa social media accounts ko kayo tatayuan at maninidigan para sa inyo!” Melendez added.
(Too bad I am not in Quezon City anymore, which is why I cannot fight for you guys better, so I will just use my social media accounts to stand up for you and defend you!)
2She also underscored that the decision to tax online sellers comes in such “bad timing,” as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is proposing online sellers to register their businesses amid the economic crisis.
Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 60-2020 issued by the BIR on June 1 gave online sellers until July 31 to register and pay the required taxes.
The Department of Finance earlier this month maintained that their decision is meant only to encourage them to register their businesses with the BIR.
Other than netizens, several senators have also questioned and criticized BIR’s move. Sen. Joel Villanueva, for one, urged the BIR to spare small businessmen and go after big-time tax evaders such as owners of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) instead.
The BIR on June 17 said that they are not going after small businessmen but are after big online merchants such as Lazada and Netflix. BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa also noted that they also want to tax merchants selling via shopping sites like Lazada. /ra
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