S HAR E ADJ US T C OMMENT P R INT

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” so the Staples commercial goes.

It’s back-to-school time, as students change gears from the lazy days of summer and shift back to
hitting the books. Today’s classrooms are equipped with the latest technology to enhance
instruction. Here are some favourite student and teacher gadgets for use in day-to-day learning:

1) Smartphones – Smartphone use in the classroom is still somewhat controversial, but the
Calgary Board of Education actually encourages it as a learning tool. In an interview with CTV,
Queen’s University National Scholar and Associate Professor Sidneyeve Matrix compared the
situation to when calculators were first used by students in the classroom. “We had a whole new
level of computational skill, and now we’re going to have a whole new level of mobile digital
skills when we turn to mobile learning on the handhelds.”
2) Laptops and tablets – Technology users are moving towards being more mobile, and
teachers and students are a significant part of that trend. Last month, Lenovo, the world’s top PC
vendor reported that they sold more smartphones and tablets than PCs for the first time ever.
3) Interactive whiteboards – Calgary-based SMART Technologies’ SMART Boards are
popular with both teachers and students. Teachers can project presentations onto the SMART
Boards and they can write, touch and interact with their content.
4) Document cameras – Document cameras are a fun way for teachers to show students new
and interesting ways of looking at objects. Whether they are zooming in on the smaller details of
a 3D object, or observing science experiments, students can share an equal view of the lesson –
without crowding the teacher’s desk.
5) mp3 players – Whether a student is listening to his own music while studying, or a teacher
is playing an audio book to her students, mp3 players are an increasingly common sight in
schools. Both teachers and students can make full use of mp3 players in their school activities.
CASTILLO, Michael Angelo F.

BSEd- BIO SCI 4

Problem with our tax system and how it affects us.

We have some of the highest income tax rates in the region which discourage firms
from producing more goods on employees. Second, there are too much goods and services
which are not being taxed. In fact there are 59 lines of VAT exemption. Third the evading of the
tax system. Too many Filipinos can get away with not paying taxes. From 2010 t0 2013
compensation earners earned 60% of total incomes in the country but paid as much as 80% of
all taxes. Fourth is that our tax system is too complicated. Tax system should be plain and
simple. This system is complicated especially for small taxpayers. In 2015 study it is found out
that the Philippines ranked 127th out of 189 economies in terms of ease in paying taxes. Fifth is
that rich Filipinos are not paying their fair share of taxes. Our tax system is mildly progressive.
Poor Filipinos effectively pay a larger fraction of their income in taxes. Last is the time in ripe for
tax reform. Tax is a balancing act between efficiency and equity. This imposes progressive taxes
to make society a fairer place to live in.

INSIGHTS

Our tax system is unfortunately unfair. Tax is a policy on which is a balancing act
between efficiency and equity. But due to some instances these taxes are burdensome to the
poor and benefit for the rich. But they also yield too little revenue given the distortions they
create although we have high taxes it is also a disadvantage in the aspect that there are goods
that doesn’t have taxes. But most importantly our government must take action on the matter
of having high taxes. And also they should make some move to avoid the Filipinos to get away
without paying their taxes.