EDITORIAL - Shaming tax evaders

More names are being drawn up for public identification as part of the war on drugs, President Duterte vowed the other day. He said the list is likely to include barangay officials, government prosecutors and more police officers.

Drug personalities aren’t the only ones in his crosshairs. The President has promised to expand his shame campaign to major tax evaders. Apart from naming the tax dodgers and filing cases against them, he wants them prevented from leaving the country.

The business community has generally welcomed this latest pronouncement, with several investors urging the President to ensure that tax evaders face appropriate legal sanctions. Tax dodgers, the investors said, must not only return what they have withheld from the government but also spend time behind bars, which is how other countries penalize the offense.

For this tax campaign to be effective, the President must ensure that revenue collectors themselves are clean. The Bureau of Internal Revenue underwent housecleaning under its previous chief Kim Henares, but the purge of rotten eggs in any government agency is a continuing effort. If certain businessmen get away with large-scale tax evasion, it is not just because they can afford to hire topnotch accountants but also because of the likelihood that revenue collectors have been paid to look the other way.

The President has expressed strong abhorrence for corruption and has said he is scouting for a “killer” to head at least one agency that he describes as one of the most corrupt. He must make sure his zero tolerance for corruption will cover the BIR.

A war on tax evasion can succeed only if it is waged by upright revenue collectors. And battle gains are best sustained by imposing penalties set by law for cheating the government, including forfeiture of assets and imprisonment. More than a shame campaign, the belief that one will surely pay for breaking the law is the best deterrent to tax evasion and other offenses.