“the Underground Economy of Tacloban City”
I. Introduction
Tax is the backbone of our government. It makes the government’s plan (on the development of human society, lifestyle, labor employment etc.) a reality. Tax is charged to all individuals on the right age depending on the income coming from their work or business in the society. 57% of our population are already on the labor force and are therefore eligible to pay tax. But not all people engaged in businesses or work pay tax. Some of them work and earn money without the concern of paying tax. These people are engaged in what we call the “underground economy”.
II. Presentation of facts
It was very difficult to find willing people with businesses to be interviewed. For the fact that I did not introduce myself completely, perhaps they thought I was a government employee searching for illegal businesses. But luckily, I managed to interview four people with businesses: 1 with a BIR notice and 3 with none. Most of the non-BIR business people were under-aged, but they can earn enough money. Here is a layout of the information I got with the interviews conducted: (please refer to the last 3 pages of this investigatory report) Based on these facts, we can conclude that underground businesses can really “earn”.
III. Discussions In Tacloban City, more and more underground businesses are growing every year due to poverty. People think of numerous ways to earn money just to survive. And surprisingly, not only the adults do work now-a-days but also children as young as 13 years old. With these evidences surrounding our city, it is very much ironic to say that our economy is improving because our lifestyle still has not changed. As I explored the city proper of Tacloban, I found several poverty-stricken citizens scattered in the sidewalks and selling things to passers-by. With the space they occupy, they become the common cause of crowdedness in the sidewalks. Some sidewalk businesses include watch repairs,
Tax is the backbone of our government. It makes the government’s plan (on the development of human society, lifestyle, labor employment etc.) a reality. Tax is charged to all individuals on the right age depending on the income coming from their work or business in the society. 57% of our population are already on the labor force and are therefore eligible to pay tax. But not all people engaged in businesses or work pay tax. Some of them work and earn money without the concern of paying tax. These people are engaged in what we call the “underground economy”.
II. Presentation of facts
It was very difficult to find willing people with businesses to be interviewed. For the fact that I did not introduce myself completely, perhaps they thought I was a government employee searching for illegal businesses. But luckily, I managed to interview four people with businesses: 1 with a BIR notice and 3 with none. Most of the non-BIR business people were under-aged, but they can earn enough money. Here is a layout of the information I got with the interviews conducted: (please refer to the last 3 pages of this investigatory report) Based on these facts, we can conclude that underground businesses can really “earn”.
III. Discussions In Tacloban City, more and more underground businesses are growing every year due to poverty. People think of numerous ways to earn money just to survive. And surprisingly, not only the adults do work now-a-days but also children as young as 13 years old. With these evidences surrounding our city, it is very much ironic to say that our economy is improving because our lifestyle still has not changed. As I explored the city proper of Tacloban, I found several poverty-stricken citizens scattered in the sidewalks and selling things to passers-by. With the space they occupy, they become the common cause of crowdedness in the sidewalks. Some sidewalk businesses include watch repairs,