Pay your taxes, honor the law

Tax is known to be a burden to every taxpayer. If you earn an income, whether from business or employment, you generally need to pay an income tax. If you do business, whether you gain or loss, you are normally required to remit business taxes. Taxes can be local or can be national. Income tax and business taxes (e.g., value added tax, percentage tax and excise tax) are examples of national taxes imposed on taxpayers. On the other hand, local taxes include permits, licenses and other taxes imposed by local government units. Thus, taxes may initially give unfavorable impressions and impact in our daily lives. But why our government imposed such burdens?

Taxation has four main purposes – revenue, redistribution, repricing and representation. Read more

Legal requirements for employing minors in the Philippines

All work and no play makes Juan dela Cruz a dull “boy.”   Our boys and girls are supposed to be playing and schooling, not working.  This is perhaps what lawmakers had in mind when they crafted laws protecting minors who are employed.  Thus, even if our laws allow minors to work, it is subject to stringent requirements.   Employers are required to comply with the minimum hours of work specifically applicable to minors.  It is also a must to provide favorable facilities and services, especially unhindered access to education.   Most importantly, the express consent of the parents or guardians and the child is necessary.  All of these are aimed at promoting the “best interest” of the child. Read more

Philippine laws for women at work

Through the years, women have always been regarded as inferior to men. Tagged as the weaker sex, women strived to achieve a better place in Philippine society. From the struggle for the right to vote and to the right to engage in male-dominated occupations, women have shown that they can be as good, even better, contributors to society’s progress.

In recognition of women’s important role in our nation’s development, our lawmakers have passed several laws addressing their problems and protecting their rights against abuse and discrimination. Notably, in the field of labor law, women are considered as a special category of employees. Their working conditions are treated in a separate chapter in the Labor Code (Chapter I, Title III, Book III).  They are given special benefits and privileges to address the historical problem of women being subjected to unfavorable conditions of work. Read more

Philippine labor laws that employers must know

Knowing laws on labor and employment is vital to one’s business because a minor violation could lead you to big trouble. Most employers, especially those who do not have legal counsel, violate these laws usually not because they intend to, but because of sheer ignorance. Unfortunately, ignorance of the law does not excuse them from complying with it. Companies have closed shop after their employees slapped them with labor suits which ended up with these companies paying huge amounts of money representing unpaid wages or benefits and damages. To avoid being in the same situation, the following are relevant laws which you should always bear in mind as you go about your business and deal with your employees: Read more

The greatest law on earth applied in business

I just browsed the internet to search an answer on how many laws are there in the world today. Some reference said there are hundreds of thousands of them. Yahoo’s Answers give me a rough estimate of millions of permanent and changing laws on Earth. Finally, I realized that it’s very hard to determine the precise number of existing rules on the planet. This is true since there are many countries in the world and every country has numerous laws. Within a country, there are also several local bodies which implements regulations. Even in our own home and in our office, we make a lot of polices.

Laws and policies are created to establish and promote harmony between parties. Business laws are also implemented to preserve and protect organizations and persons who are doing business. The law on obligations and contract, for example, was instituted to protect the rights and wellness of the parties on a contract. Justice and righteousness are what laws on Earth uphold. Furthermore, the law on sales also exists to defend the rights and well-beings of not only the sellers but also of the buyers. There are so many codes which are directed even just in commerce. Here is also the corporation law that regulates the corporations. Insurance, agency, banking, taxation, investing and labor laws are also rulings which are established to preserve the harmony in the social and commercial system. But do we really need to know all the rules to become righteous in our every decision? Read more

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