BIR Versus Doctors

I know I'm really late but I'm writing this anyway. 

Today, the BIR's shame campaign to compel doctors to pay the right taxes may have run its course. 

Several weeks back, columnists have already castigated the BIR for what they think are hugely unjustified attacks against medical professionals. Doctors have also weighed in, condemning the campaign as putting every doctor under a bad light.

But, first, I'll share a story. 

Alex, a former colleague and now the mother of a beautiful kid, had mentioned to us back then of a special request by her gynecologist. After Alex' delivery, the doctor had requested that Alex pay the professional fee in cash. The request only pointed to one thing: the doctor was minimizing her tax liability by leaving no paper trail of her actual income. 

I encountered the same thing while I was still in the bank: we would request for income tax returns from clients who were doctors knowing full well these weren't reliable. Then, our credit services department would visit the clinics of these doctors to verify their actual income.

Though these anecdotes merely point to my own experience with doctors, I definitely believe that there is a widespread 'cheating' phenomenon among doctors in general. Despite the rhetoric of the senior officials of the Philippine Medical Association, doctors who cheat on their taxes comprise the majority and not the minority of the group.

Amidst the bruhaha surrounding the campaign, many have yet to acknowledge that this phenomenon is prevalent. Many have chosen instead to dismiss the notion of cheating doctors as an isolated incident, as something only done by a very small group of people. Nothing can be further from the truth and the BIR has the income tax returns to back its claim of widespread evasion.

So what now? The campaign has started a couple of things. There's more scrutiny among the public over payment practices deemed 'normal' by doctors. There's, obviously, the cloud of doubt hovering over the profession and over the integrity of its practitioners. 

But what it has failed to do is to bring in a deeper sense of introspection among doctors, to force them to look across their ranks and, instead of defending, police those who are erring in their duties as taxpayers.

Instead, what we've got is blatant and defiant denial. And that's surely going to motivate the BIR to push the envelope even more.

By the way, I do have family relatives who are doctors. I should've disclosed that earlier.