Not all stars swim in money

Lately, I’ve been writing about the entertainment industry’s battle against the 10 percent VAT to be imposed by the government on the paychecks of actors, singers, broadcasters, athletes and other professionals. In one of my columns, I wrote about how the movie industry wouldn’t get public sympathy because everyone seems to have this notion that entertainers are swimming in money. True enough, I got this response e-mailed to The Philippine STAR. Unfortunately, I can’t make out anymore where it came from but here is the letter:

The statements of most movie stars over the 10 percent VAT make me think that all of you in the entertainment business are arrogant. Why should you be taxed differently from the other regular employees who are also burdened with taxes? The monthly salary of a regular employee I’m sure is just equivalent to the excess of the budget allocated by a movie star (big or small) for his or her shopping spree.

So why should I feel sad if these actors and actresses have to fire their security guards, cooks and drivers in their attempt to cut down on their too comfortable lifestyle? You are absolutely right when you said that the movie industry would not get the support of the public on this issue. Why should we care? It’s the public that makes these actors rich and famous. These actors are in the entertainment business because it’s their choice. All they do is complain.

When GMA 7’s Debate With Mare and Pare tackled this issue regarding the 10 percent VAT the other Thursday, it made me realize that the public has this mistaken notion that entertainers are one big bunch of tax evaders. This is so untrue. The only time entertainers can probably cheat on their taxes is when they perform in provincial shows – you know, those with makeshift stage and all – because I don’t think those who put up these programs issue receipts. But that’s seasonal. And I know of a lot of entertainers who travel to the provinces to perform for free. In my case, for instance, I’ve hosted quite a number of beauty pageants and talent competitions all over Bicolandia and all I get are laing, candied pili and abaca placemats. But I’m not complaining. After all, my hosts always feed me well and provide me with excellent accommodations (or at least, the best that the place offers). If it’s for the benefit of a parish or a community, that’s no problem with me. A lot of other entertainers do the same thing – for charity.

It’s therefore unfair for the public to brand entertainers as cheaters and tax evaders. You see, before these performers can even get their paychecks from the cashiers of the studios they work for, a 20 percent withholding tax had already been deducted from their respective talent fees. And now, comes another tax burden – the 10 percent VAT. I therefore don’t understand why some people insist that entertainers don’t pay taxes.

The letter writer obviously has this impression that all movie stars maintain such fabulous lifestyles – complete with security guards, cooks and drivers. No, that’s not true.

I’ve been to the homes of several movie stars and I don’t see security guards manning the entrance of their respective homes – except for those who live in condominiums where the guards also service other unit owners. (In most cases, movie stars can even hardly pay the rent of their condo units.) I went to the New Manila home of Nora Aunor in 1990, for instance, to deliver her invitation to the Urian Awards and the only person I saw standing by the gate was Matet, who was then only seven years old. No, most movie stars don’t have that much wealth that would require 24 hour security.

As for the cooks, what I know is that movie stars have the usual maids who do all-around work: cleaning the house, doing the laundry and, yes, cooking – just like in most regular homes in this country. Movie stars who maintain full-time cooks are those who come from really wealthy families – those provided by their rich parents. And yes, the superstars. But how many are they?

Movie stars are also on a perpetual diet so they don’t need to hire full-time cooks to prepare their food. In some cases, there’s nothing to cook – and this is the truth. There was a time when I brought the crew of ABS-CBN with me to the rented home of a young actress (from That’s Entertainment) and all she could offer the crew was a bottle of family size Coke and she was very apologetic about it. The actress was quite popular during her time – probably a rung lower than the status of Vina Morales and Donna Cruz that time – but obviously was not being properly compensated for all the work she did. Now, she’s no longer in the business.

And then, there was a time I went with the Startalk crew to interview a movie couple both actively doing sex films. The house was actually a rented room in a rundown building in front of Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City. They were obviously embarrassed about the place they call home, but that was no problem with us – except for the fact that the camera set-up could hardly fit in that tiny room they had. But like the typical Filipino hosts that they are, they were very accommodating and even served us Coke and banana fritters (my favorite) – or what is commonly known as banana cue.

But I kept thinking to myself then. Here are people – movie stars – who disrobe and do all those salacious scenes for the camera and yet could not afford better accommodations for themselves. This is a clear indication that movie stars don’t really earn well – contrary to what the public thinks.

As for the drivers hired by most entertainment, well, that is already a necessity because movie stars work long hours and have to travel to location shoots in the provinces. Those who couldn’t afford drivers run the risk of figuring in vehicular accidents – like Aya Medel who almost died in a car crash a few years ago because she had to drive herself back to the city without sleep after a long shoot in a province down south. And then, there was Korina Sanchez who also figured in a car accident along EDSA about a decade ago because she had to drive herself back home in the wee hours of the morning.

If entertainers are complaining now about the additional 10 percent VAT, it’s because this is already too much. we say Ouch! Because it already hurts.