Yet They Say Oh! No We Don't Have A Thing Called Long Nose Tax!

[Call me bubba]

Also, I would differentiate between a tourist tax and long nose tax.  To me, the long nose tax is an inflated price I (I guess I am a long nose) might pay at the wet market.  A tourist tax applying to all foreign tourists ( as in the Palawan example ) is different, in my mind.

 

 

in several cities "foreigners" pay more for some government services the 2 cities that come to mind is

 CEBU and DAVAO

,when 1 is getting married a higher fee is charged and when is filling out a COLB(that's the birth certificate)

also the MANILA city zoo has a varied entrance   fee  .of what i recall, manila residents pay 1 fee and others pay a higher entrance fee

 

Some people don't want to know the truth.

 

thanks Americano for that statement, when i read or see that it reminds me of a FEW GOOD MEN

 

 

 

 

You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.

Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom.

You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know,

that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall.

 

You need me on that wall. We use words like "honor", "code", "loyalty".

We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way.

Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!

 

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Few_Good_Men

Edited December 1, 2014 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[brock]

JJ , I Disagree, I would guess that Expats and Tourists pay more tax  than the average Filipino.

[FlyAway]

JJ's post got me thinking about it as well. Many places in USA offer discounts to residents living in certain zip codes.

 

The sign I posted was in your face that you as a foreigner will pay more. I would think if they were to re word it to say, "Discount with Local ID or voter ID", something like that, then it would not bother us so much. It is a good way to get locals to visit. Who out there hates to get a discount anyway? Great marketing tool now that I think about it.

 

[Hopeless]

This happens everywhere in the world . I used to live in Banff Canada a huge tourist draw  heres a a couple examples .

 

The gondola to the top of sulfer mountain is 25 bucks each a huge rip off IMO but for locals it is free with 1 payed admission

25 bucks vs free

 

All the local golf courses are the same I could play a round for 80 dollars and a Tourist will pay at least 200 and sometimes double that depending on the day and time .

 

Tourists should pay more because the local can not afford the high prices and if they can afford it Im sure they pay more taxs than most expats . The its not fair argument holds no water to me  , A local makes 5 bucks a day and tourists make 200 to 500 a day at home sounds fair if you can afford a ticket to the Phils and cry about a extra couple bucks here and there for touristy crap get over it  stay home and compare a month long holiday traveling around your home country . Most of us spend more just surviving at home than we do on holidays in the Phils 

[Methersgate]

There is also "spouse or girlfriend of long nose" tax!

[MikeB]

There is a huge difference between charging "local residents" less and gouging "foreigners" for the equivalent of about a dollar. Residents of Palawan should get a discount or admitted free but everyone else is a visitor. And I guarantee they go by physical appearance, not nationality. A foreign tourist of Filipino ancestry would probably not be charged the higher rate. How would they charge my own child who is Filipino by blood AND place of birth but looks 100% foreign? They are being "pennywise and pound foolish" as the saying goes. This place was named one of the wonders of the world, this and Boracay are the crown jewels of Philippine tourism. Charging the very people they depend upon a slightly higher fee is idiotic, it does nothing but antagonize the very segment they should be cultivating. So this place, along with the Oslob whale shark extravaganza, goes on my list to avoid. I don't care if it's a centavo more, it's wrong. Someone mentioned writing the Dept of Tourism, how could they not know about this? 

[scott h]

Residents in my home town of San Diego CA. also get discounts to local attractions. In fact there is a special "room tax" on hotel rooms to take advantage of tourists. (if your a local and need a hotel room you have to pay it also but oh well). As others have said, taking advantage of foreign tourists is not just a Philippine thing, but happens all over the world.

 

So in my opinion this has our members miffed for 1 of 2 reasons:

 

1. The IN YOUR FACE, WE ARE RIPPING YOU OFF way that this certain attraction posts the fee information. It is kind of stupid and could be presented in a more marketable way.

 

and

 

2. This one affects WE EXPATS!!!! :th_unfair: . Don't the powers that be realize that we are on a fixed income??? Don't they know how much money we pour into the local economy? Don't they know that we help support our wives or girlfriends family and without us they would not be as near as well off as they are???

 

 

Bottom line is Guys (and Gals) the main reason that the Philippine government makes it extremely easy for non-citizens to stay for extended periods of time is to get our money. Name me one of our home countries where a middle class (non-athlete, businessman, actor, actress or mega rich) person can virtually stay forever (for a fee naturally) and not worry about being deported.

 

We might not like it, but sure as heck we are not going to change it. :cheersty:

[jpbago]

They pay taxes as residents. We don't.

 

   Not one of my 68 relatives pays property taxes and they pay very little vat. They are all squatters. All foreigners pay taxes whether it be on their houses, their hotel rooms or their rentals plus we buy more things  thus pay more vat.

  Costa Rica used to charge higher fees for foreigners entrance fee to National Parks but the foreigners refused to pay it. They would walk away with their local tica g/fs so when the parks saw that they were losing 2 entrance fees, they dropped the foreigner higher fees.

  Here in this kiss ass/save face country, nobody complains so it goes on blatantly.

[MikeB]

I remember seeing the "Foreigner Price" signs in the Costa Rica parks, I never paid it once that I recall but I believe it was voluntary at that time (1998). But it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend many thousands of dollars in airfare, hotels, transportation, etc to come to a faraway, isolated place specifically to see this "Wonder of the World"  and walk away because you're being overcharged the equivalent of about a dollar. Singling out "Foreigners" is a PR blunder. I don't give a damn one way or the other, my comment was that it's stupid and shortsighted.

[scott h]

it's stupid and shortsighted.

 

Not really Mike, consider like you said:

But it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend many thousands of dollars in airfare

 

Its the tourist thing, do they get a lot of money from the many folks who are going to visit one time and one time only? Or just charge one flat fee for all and hope to make up the difference from expat repeat business? I know that if I went to see the river and I really liked it I don't think I would return to see it later just because they charged me the same price as a local. Being charge more "MIGHT" keep me from returning, but they got my money once and that's the point.