Effective ‘shame’ campaign

The advertisements the Bureau of Internal Revenue put out this week in some broadsheets accomplished their objective—they raised public awareness about the need to pay the right taxes.

The three ads featured an online seller, lady doctor and independent accountant sitting on the shoulders of a foreman, school teacher and souz chef, respectively.

The online seller was shown to have earned P400,000, but paid zero taxes, while the foreman had an income of P253,680 for which he paid P38,420 in taxes.

The lady doctor paid P7,424 in taxes for her P1,075,080.52 income as against the P221,694.23 the school teacher paid for her P852,169.48 earnings.

The accountant had an income of P540,000, for which he paid P2,574.25 in taxes, versus the souz chef who earned P513,571.17 but paid P101,145.10 in taxes.

Beneath the photos were the words “When you don’t pay your taxes, you’re a burden to those who do. Do your share. Knowyourtaxes.ph.”

The ads aim to remind the taxpayers of their obligation to pay the right taxes as the April 15 deadline for the payment of income tax nears.

Stung by the implied reference to doctors as tax evaders, the Philippine Medical Association described the ads as demeaning. It asked the BIR to “stop the negative campaign against professionals, especially doctors.”

Tax obligation

Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares denied singling out the doctors “since the print ad pertains to all professionals who do not pay the correct amount of taxes.”

She said the ads were meant to tell delinquent taxpayers to feel ashamed to those people who pay the right taxes. She pointed out that there are only two ways to make Filipinos pay their taxes: frighten them into paying or shame them for not paying.

By design or accident, the sharp exchange of words between the doctors and Henares became fodder for news in the national dailies and tabloids.

The country’s major radio and TV networks weighed in on the issue too. News readers and commentators conducted live interviews of Henares and doctors who felt they were cast in a bad light by the ads.

Radio listeners called in or sent text messages to radio programs to say their piece about the doctors’ complaint of bad treatment and the propriety of the BIR putting out those ads.

As expected, the social media joined the fray. The BIR and the doctors had their share of supporters and detractors among the netizens who exchanged colorful, and sometimes disparaging, comments.

While many understood the importance of paying the right taxes, concerns were likewise raised about the need to ensure that the taxes are used properly and do not go to the pockets of corrupt government officials.

Attention

Setting aside the merits of the points raised by the contending parties, there is no question the ads were a hit. They became the talk of the town.

The BIR got millions of pesos worth of publicity, free of charge, about its campaign to make the people more conscious about their tax obligations.

The ads’ audience went beyond the readers of the newspapers that published them. Thanks to radio and TV coverage, even the people in the C and D social brackets, who are usually unfamiliar with or hardly cared about taxes, were drawn to the issue.

For one, it was a learning experience for a radio caller, who described herself as a market vendor, to know that, although she does not pay income taxes, she indirectly pays taxes whenever she buys goods or services on which value added taxes have been imposed.

The public got an insight of the principles of taxation and the inner workings of the BIR as Henares made herself available for radio interviews. It helped that she explained the nuances of taxation in understandable Filipino and with the least legalese.

Some of the “victims” of the ads, i.e., the professionals they featured, contributed to the learning process by agreeing to be interviewed on air to explain their side of the story.

No doubt, the three provocative ads outperformed all previous campaigns of the BIR to make the public conscious of their obligation to pay the right taxes.

Campaigns

Business and government offices that want to engage in similar campaigns can learn some lessons from the recent BIR ads.

Departing from the usual style of print ads, they did not feature movie personalities, beauty queens or people whose photos often grace the lifestyle pages of the broadsheets. Just plain-looking folks whom the readers can identify with.

The words and phrases used matched the accompanying photo. They were simple, yet catchy. There were no highfalutin words that would make the readers run to the dictionary for assistance.

The ads hit what may be considered the rawest of the Filipino’s nerves—hiya or sense of shame. Or the feeling that a person has committed an act, or failed to do something, that results in the loss of the respect or esteem of his family or community.

That feeling of shame will, depending on the moral fiber of the person concerned, either make him do what is expected of him, in this case, pay the right taxes; or justify his tax evasion by telling himself that he is smarter than others and then wait for the law of karma to catch up with him.

The agency that created those ads should take a bow for a job well done.

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