Pertinent Articles on RA 9504

There are pertinent articles regarding RA 9504 over at Punongbayan & Araullo’s Press Room. They describe the issues surrounding the law.

You can read the articles here, here, and here.

Many concerns have been raised, and my favorite:

Is this really what RA 9504 intended — to create and encourage absurd situations? Can’t the BIR, at least, read the real intent of RA 9504 and help promote social justice by saying that any income received by a worker over and above the minimum wage, to the extent that the tax distortion is eliminated and the take home pay is equalized, be still exempt from taxes as a MWE?

It may be difficult to justify such move, considering that the flaw is in the law itself. But the BIR was able to do it in certain instances in the past.

With these good, pertinent, and timely articles from an accounting firm website, P&A would have better hosted a discussion by offering comments or provided a forum. It would have been a good discussion, instead of just a lone standing article.

Back to Back: Surigao and Palawan

Got to visit Surigao and Palawan recently for a business trip. To make good on my promise, I brought prime lenses only in those two places: the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM and its younger brother, the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM lenses.

Visit my flickr account for more pictures.

Eraserheads reunion concert cut short

Ely Buendia rushed to hospital; Eraserheads reunion concert cut short

No, I wasn’t in the event. And this is the sad news that broke when I arrived home.

The Eraserheads reunion concert on Saturday night at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field was cut short after lead singer Ely Buendia suffered “emotional and physical stress.”

There should really be a part 2…or maybe a reunion for good. Whatchathink?

Jayvee of abuggedlife.com shares a video of the concert: Eraserheads Reunion Opens with Alapaap.

Philippines is 3rd in the Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad

Chessdom – India wins the Chess U16 Olympiad 2008 ahead of Russia.

With GM Wesley So steering the board 1 for the Philippines, he won 8 games and drew 2 to grab the gold medal at board 1. Not a bad performance for the Philippines, considering So’s teammates are way below his high ELO rating of 2577.

Actually, Wesley So was the highest rated player in the tournament.

Seen Only in Surigao

Or maybe, at least, so far, I only get to see this in Surigao.

Bike with Wings
Bike with Wings

It’s like a motorcycle with wings. Its wings from both sides are designed to hold passengers. In Surigao, these are usually employed in order to get to the mountains where no passenger jeepneys can go. Locals say it can hold up to 10 passengers in one trip, depending on the size/weight of each passenger.

Bullet Points: Facebook, Friendster, Tumblr, Prime Lenses

Tumblr Search

Good news for Tumblr users. Now we don’t have to wait anymore for Google to index our pages in tumblr in order for Google Custom Search to actually display search results from our tumblr archives. Tumblr now has a built-in search.

Wait, now how am I gonna implement this in my tumblelog?

The Power of Prime Lenses

Oftentimes, beginners dismiss prime lenses as inconvenient. And they overlook the positive side of it:

  • They are usually cheaper as compared to equivalent zooms, as they are less complicated to design and manufacture.
  • They usually produce better pictures. No rotating elements as for zooms, so usually no setbacks for the convenience of zooms. I don’t really have no pictures as evidence to back that argument. Just better ask the experts. But, really, based on experience, one usually makes the most our of his/her DSLR while using prime lenses.
  • It helps you become more creative with your composition, as you zoom by your feet.

Not convinced yet? Read more from here.

Continue reading Bullet Points: Facebook, Friendster, Tumblr, Prime Lenses

Grandmasters Eugene Torre and Wesley So Battle Over One Million

Inquirer.net dubs this the richest chess event in the country so far. Philippines’ chess legend GM Eugenio Torre against the current world’s youngest grandmaster GM Wesley So for a pot prize of Php 1 million. The match will be a 10-round one-on-one duel, two games each will be played in Quezon City, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao, the remaining if unresolved will be continued back in Quezon City. The winner gets P600,000, the loser P400,000.

Read more.

De Minimis Benefits under the NIRC

Disclaimer: The article that follow is my personal opinion, intended for discussion purposes only. It should not be construed as official opinion or regulation by any governmental agency that has authority over the matter.

Found this in my inbox:

Remy:
Can you help me understand what is the maximum amount of de minimis that could be extended to employees? What are other tax deductions can an employee have?
Thanks.

The National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 only mentions of De Minimis Benefits as one of the fringe benefits that are not taxable (Section 33.C). No definition whatsoever. As such, no explicit amount was provided for in the law.

Continue reading De Minimis Benefits under the NIRC

Celebrating the Unique Day 8.8.8

Lucky number, indeed. Once in our lifetime will this day ever happen. As such, Deuts.NET welcomes the day and the favorite number with a (what? again?) new design–a new look.

Unique designs by Deuts.NET
Unique designs by Deuts.NET

I know, the change of costume may have happened too soon from the last time. But what can I do, I was just longing for this time to come. And hopefully, we’ll stick to this for much longer period (I know I will).

To the old codelog theme, you have been part of Deuts.NET history. It was great while it lasted.