A very senior moment

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It seems appropriate that the Year of the Fire Horse is being led by two galloping senior issues — one led by a very senior global statesman who likes shaking things up at the start of the year, and the  other issue affecting Filipino seniors — that also feels like a betrayal after years of compliance to the government’s tax rules.

The world’s economic order is once again in turmoil after the US Supreme Court struck down the legality of President Donald Trump’s global tariff hikes that Trump, however, is trying to defy by ordering yet another global levy of 15 percent as of the latest international update.

The whole world will have to wait and see just how US President Trump will either get his way, or bow down to the reality that in the US, democracy is still being upheld by its Judicial branch and that he cannot appropriate certain powers that belong to the Legislative branch.

Thus, while the US will now have to sort out how it will go about either unwinding or imposing alternative levies on imports, it will definitely create volatility in the global trade of goods and services.

So, for Filipinos, don’t expect any sudden relief.  More likely traders will be able to make a killing as nobody really knows if they will get refunds and may just keep whatever price hikes they have already imposed.

We consumers, unfortunately, will never really know and just pay whatever traders charge us. And even if tariff refunds are eventually made, only traders will benefit.

And that is where Filipino seniors will likely be doubly affected, especially if the Marcos government succumbs to recommendations to remove the exemption of senior citizens from the payment of the value-added tax on certain medications, goods and services.

Being a senior myself, I have a biased opinion against the removal of the senior citizen VAT exemption that I am now enjoying.

But mind you, oftentimes, we seniors have to fight for that exemption granted by law because there are a lot of establishments and people who try to fool and bully seniors into accepting a lower five to 10 percent VAT simply because a lot of seniors do not carefully check the computation and are not knowledgeable about the Expanded Senior Citizen Act of 2010.

In fact, a lot of establishments even impose their own limitations about the coverage of the VAT exemptions such as limiting the exemption to just one dish, and more often than not, the cashier limits the exemption to the cheapest dish.

In supermarkets, there are a lot of food items that they claim are not subject to VAT exemption, so more often than not you just have to pay full price.

The most common trick of non-compliant establishments, especially restaurants, is computing the VAT exemption at just 10 percent and adding a 10 percent service charge.

My husband and I have often encountered this in a lot of restaurants, because cashiers are aware that most clients don’t really bother to check the computation and just rely on good faith that the restaurant and its cashier are doing the right thing.

A lot of cashiers are already aware that Filipinos are poor in math and sometimes even bluff their way out if the client is able to show that they can do the math and that an error has clearly been made.

Clients must always check their bills because even for those paying the regular price, there are a lot of tricks to pad restaurant bills, including doubling certain orders or putting in dishes that were not even ordered, and like I said, if the group is a combination of several seniors and regular clients, it is easier to confuse the discounted amount.

To make matters worse, especially in some establishments, they add certain local taxes.

Why do I feel betrayed as a senior by this move to try to repeal the senior citizen VAT exemption?

Two reasons — after paying for more than 45 years all of my taxes as a salaried  employee, and even as a columnist already entitled to tax credits and refunds — which I have not received to this date — the small VAT-free discount I get is a consolation that I now enjoy.

Even in pharmacies, restrictions are regularly imposed on the amount of medicines we can buy, often with a doctor’s receipt already stating the required amount. An error in the dosage and the pharmacy already nullifies the discount.

To make matters worse, doctors don’t even give VAT exemption or even a receipt for their consultation fee — so who is the tax evader?

Frankly, we seniors really don’t even eat that much anymore for health reasons. So big lavish meals, or buffets,  are a waste of money for us, because even if we  want to, our digestive system is now more selective and oftentimes results in indigestion that force us to seek medical relief, so it just becomes more of a problem to overeat.

Truthfully, seniors don’t get their money’s worth in buffets.

Too sweet, too spicy, too salty, too oily...we have so many restrictions that picking a restaurant is sometimes a problem — do they have good, fresh ingredients? Are they sanitary? Mura ba?

We don’t earn any income anymore. We live off our savings, so we have to budget what we spend, and eating out is a small luxury.

On the other hand, the government continues to treat its citizens as piggy banks — pay your taxes diligently and on time — but what do we get instead? Corruption at all levels of government and hardly any health benefits.

We cannot even seek proper relief from the government to complain about senior citizen tax exemptions and restrictions.

Speaking as a senior citizen, I can say that many of us rarely get to fully enjoy our benefits because they are often denied in practice.