Game in the Brain

What would happen if there was no Taxes for Schools and Teachers in the Philippines for about 20 years (Reinstating the tax slowly after; This Tax Free Extends to Certified Training Centers)?

The first to benefit are the Non-Religious or Secular Schools, ALL teachers would breathe a sigh of relieve and these schools would not worry about 15% preferential school taxes compared to those of Religious Schools who don’t pay any taxes.

What happens in the first year?
Well there be a rush to build new schools, I guess. Secular Schools are now as competitive as Non-secular schools.  BPO’s will expand their Recruitment and Training departments now that their training centers will be a “tax shelter”.

After-School Schools and Tutorial and Later in life education will become more profitable, they will expand or spend the freed up cash in marketing. There are two trends: Its 20 years, plow that money back into the School Business to reap rewards OR get bought out as schools expand and keep those savings!

Schools that are expanding will start looking closely at the Demographic Information of the Philippines looking for wealthier populous regions and Partnering with BPOs to create a ready production line for Graduates to Jobs!

Foreign Firms are considering Opening their Own Corporate Sponsored Schools as a Tax Haven and to create their own Little Manpower Generator. 20 years is a whole generation cycle, and Tax Free business for this long would make money, if fact considering the Cost of Living in the Philippines is rather low.

A student with boarding can live on $250 a month very comfortable. Filipino students, even the most spoiled can live on such, away from home.
$100 for Service Residences Board, Utilities, Telecoms, and Transportation
$150 for Food and various other expenses.

Lets say one of the most Profitable Schools in the US, the University of Pheonix opens a Campus in an Economic Zone beside a Partner BPO and Ayala as a Developer leaks out. It will really change the game. Mega Campuses as Tax havens since Business act as Both Schools and Places of business.

BPOs finally get their CAMPUS style site, with Tax Breaks that are as lucrative as Economic Zones.

Now its profitable to be Highly Skilled and STAY in the Philippines. If your a good Teacher, this doubles the reason to stay and teach the next generation. Many Corporate Schools are being developed, Real Estate Developers are combining the Schools in their Portfolio as a Tax Shelter. Being a Teacher is VERY Profitable, especially the Corporations that Make their Executives Teach!

Of course this assumes Politics don’t screw this all up. Senators who are Well Landed all Open their own Schools and Scholarships in order to promote themselves. Taipans and their Mega-Corps all make their own schools and take advantage of the tax shelter.

One funny thing about this Plan is that Filipinos CAN’T afford this education; but All the Travelling Students who come here to study, will create enough stimulus for the Economy to allow another generation of Filipinos to afford this education. 20 years might be pushed to 30 or 50 years, so that 2-3 generations of Filipinos can take advantage of this education.

In 3 years, everyone will copy it and there are energetic negotiations for corporations to open Economic Education Zones in various Emerging Markets and slumped economies with rapidly disenfranchised youth and populations.

There will be a serious Civil unrest because of the Culture Shock in the next 8 years as many cultures and expats take advantage of the Tax haven and live in the Philippines. School Rivalries and Competition create a lot of Cultural Buzz and there the Local Schools try to match International Accreditation and Reputations of these Mega Corporate schools.

Religious Schools Slowly become more Secular as school administration is now about merit and less religious affiliation. The Secularness and Open-ness of foreign schools Test the Religiousness of Philippine Schools. More foreigners are introduced to Filipino Culture and Politics and draw a lot of inspiration in the exchange of Ideas and Perspectives.

Hopefully it becomes such a Hit Google considers opening up a School (think of the Tax Haven)!

For every success it generates, MORE focus there is in Education and Retraining. Even if the Tax Haven ends, you have built so much Infra and made so much money it is a sunk cost. Local Banks and Finance people would be scooping up these foreclosed schools and there is enough school Infra to sustain a Philippine Population that is now on a Slow and Stable growth. Other emerging markets will eventually draw away the Corporations with their overpopulation and heavy manpower. Still the final product is an Educated Philippines.

Because of the Hyper activity of the Infra Building to make it an education destination, you have school/offices infra. I personally don’t mind expats augmenting the population. I guess in such a system, Indian BPOs will be one of the fastest to take advantage of such a situation.

My “Shoot for the Moon” dream is a UN Technology Institute School. Basically NASA to the World so that Politics doesn’t get in the way for Technological Institute and everyone is on the same Team when it comes to Innovation. A “School” that transmits its Technology Via training the people Private or gov’t send instead of being funded by Patents. (F*ck patents) You want the technology go to UNTI and study there, pay for it there.  The technology is available for everyone who knows how to apply it, a UNTI student basically.