2nd Negative Speaker ( First Motion)

Honorable adjudicator/s, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I'm the second speaker for the negative team and I will be continuing my team's case tonight Let it be resolved that Manny Pacquiao is entitled to the rare privilege of being tax-exempt on his income. We the negative team believe that this statement is false. It is my task to show that tax-exempt of Manny Pacquiao on his income is not beneficial to the Philippines.Today I will be talking to you about my points. Now to my first point, taxation is a legal obligation. Manny Pacquiao has brought more countless honor and pride to the Filipino people but the basic principle of taxation is "equal distribution of wealth" and paying the right taxes is part of being a good citizen.It is the role of government to write and enforce equitable tax laws for the benefit of society. As the presidential spokesman said It's the duty of every citizen to pay the right taxes. Paying taxes is one of the basic obligations of every Filipino citizen. In enlightening this further, the great former Supreme Court Justice Isagani Cruz, in his textbook Constitutional Law stated that the power of taxation is inherent sovereignty that the grant of which is not necessary but the exercise is provided safeguards and limitations. Its exercise is, however, restricted by the following rule:(1) The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable.The Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation (Article VI, Section 28, par. 1).The present Constitution adds that uniformity in the matter of belonging to the same class shall be taxed at the same rate and equitability in a sense that the tax burden must be imposed according to the taxpayers capacity to pay (Cruz, Constitutional Law, 2007 ed., p. 177). The tax that Pacquiao would pay could help improve the condition of many poor Filipinos. Now to my second point, the proposal of the affirmative speaker already invites a legal challenge to the validity of equality of right which is embodied in Section 1, Article III of the 1987 Constitution thereof provides in part that no person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws because it amounts to class legislation favoring a particular individual with financial benefits too large for the government to ignore. Class legislation is prohibited by the equal protection clause of the Constitution. The equal protection of the laws is embraced in the concept of due process, as every unfair discrimination offends the requirements of justice and fair play. It has been embodied in a separate clause, however, to provide for a more specific guaranty against any form of undue favoritism or hostility from the government. It is simply requires that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to rights conferred and responsibilities imposed. Even if Pacquiao has done much to promote the Philippines on the world boxing map, and although he has made many Filipinos proud of his accomplishments in the ring he should not be given the privilege of tax-exempt. If the government gives him that rare privilege then in that case, all the Filipino beauty queens who have made the country proud should also be exempt from paying taxes. Other athletes who win world titles should be exempt from paying taxes because they bring honor to the country. Families of Filipino overseas contract workers who bring in billions of dollars into the country should also be exempt from paying taxes.

My third and final point is that the tax-exempt of Manny Pacquiao on his income is not beneficial to the Philippines because it violates the 1987 Philippine Constitution that sets limitations on the exercise of the power to tax. Tax exemptions are limited to those granted by law. However, no law granting any tax exemption shall be passed without the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Congress. (Article VI, Section 28, par. 4). The Constitution expressly grants tax exemption on certain entities/institutions such as (1) charitable institutions, churches, parsonages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques, and nonprofit cemeteries and all lands, buildings and improvements actually, directly and exclusively used for religious, charitable or educational purposes (Article VI, Section 28, paragraph 3); (2) non-stock non-profit educational institutions used actually, directly and exclusively for educational purposes. (Article XVI, Section 4(3)). According to the list released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, boxing champ Manny Pacquiao emerged as the top taxpayer in the country with the amount paid P163.84 million based only on regular income tax payments made as of November 24, 2014. Thus, this amount will help a lot of Filipino people especially those people experiencing poverty. Sen. Angara, chair of the Senate committee said in a statement that to tax-exempt Manny will mean loss of revenue for government. Taxation helps to develop the infrastructure of the state like Roads, hospitals, legal protection, welfare security, environment preservation are all possible for our enjoymenttax will helps to improve the standard of the education. It will be able to provide education to all citizens and helps to increase the standard of living of the citizen. The importance of taxation is the lifeblood of the government. In Commissioner v. Algue, the Supreme Court said that taxes are the lifeblood of the government and should be collected without unnecessary hindrance. They are what we pay for a civilized society. Without taxes, the government would be paralyzed for lack of motive power to activate and operate it. The government, for its part, is expected to respond in the form of tangible and intangible benefits intended to improve the lives of the people and enhance their moral and material values. With all these said, I, as the Second Speaker for the Negative Side, rest my case.

REFERENCES

PDFs:OECD (2014),Fundamental Principles of Taxation in Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy, OECD Publishing. Retrieved in June 8, 2015 at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264218789-en

Books:Cruz, Isagani A. (2007). Constitutional Law. Central Book Supply, Inc.1987 Philippine ConstitutionThe Natioal Internal Revenue Code of the Philipines.[Tax Reform Act of 1997]. Republic Act No. 8424