Savings, taxes, and the tractor in your backyard

Just as I anticipated earlier this week and wrote on my social media page last Wednesday, some critics of the administration are spinning the 20% tax on the interest of long-term deposits into something designed to provoke public anger.

- Atty. Ian Vincent Manticajon [e-mail]

I said in my post that the government must issue a clear explanation, because if they don't, some critics, especially the disinformation machinery aligned with a certain political brand, will twist the issue and mislead the public by claiming it's a 20% tax on the entire amount of your savings deposit, when in reality, it's a 20% tax only on the interest earned.

It reminds me of the 'laglag bala' incidents during the Noynoy Aquino administration, which disinformants claimed were rampant, spinning the narrative to portray the government as heartless and incompetent, even though no verified statements or conclusive findings ever substantiated many of those reports.

On Thursday, the government, through the Department of Finance (DOF), finally clarified misconceptions fueled by ignorant individuals on social media --or by those intentionally trying to mislead others into believing that people's hard-earned bank savings deposits are being taxed 20%. If people believe in that lie, that will make them angry indeed.