text message w/ tax

[baiskee]

nyek! pambihira naman! :mad:

Gov't revives plan to tax text messaging
Posted: 2:12 AM | Jun. 03, 2004

Michelle V. Remo
Inquirer News Service


THE DEPARTMENT of Finance, unmindful of the flak it would get, is reviving its plan to tax cellular-phone text messaging, arguing that the heavily indebted government had every reason to pursue such measure.

The department will invoke the government's inherent right to impose taxes when the legislative proposal to tax "texting" -- as highly popular activity is known locally -- faces rough sailing in Congress.


"It is an inherent right of the State to impose taxes," said a high-ranking finance official, adding that text messaging had characteristics that made it "excisable," or liable for excise tax.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "too much texting," especially of jokes, made the activity go beyond being a necessity. As such, texting becomes liable to excise tax, an impost on such items as alcohol, cigarette, luxury vehicles and jewelry.

"We have a reason to tax texting because too much of it clogs the system and it encroaches on what are supposed to be productive working hours," the finance official said.

The telecommunications industry has expressed strong opposition to the plan to tax text messaging, which the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee is set to push for legislation in the next Congress. The Department of Finance is a member of the DBCC.

Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said imposing a tax on text messaging would be detrimental to the telecommunication industry, which is a significant contributor to the country's economic growth.

PLDT rival Globe Telecom said the government could not tax text messaging because it would result in double taxation. It said the 10-percent value-added tax on cellular phone cards was already a way of taxing text messaging.

The Department of Finance said the telecommunications sector was not yet adequately taxed, given its huge income from "texting," which is not directly taxed.

It refuted claims that taxing text messaging would be harmful to operations of telecom companies, which it said had large amounts of input VAT claims and even spent much on advertising, which reduces their taxable income.

The proposal to tax "texting" is considered by some members of the business sector as a drastic measure to solve the government's gaping budget deficit. The government aims to keep the deficit at no more than 197.8 billion pesos this year.

[ssaloon]

THE DEPARTMENT of Finance, unmindful of the flak it would get, is reviving its plan to tax cellular-phone text messaging, arguing that the heavily indebted government had every reason to pursue such measure.

eh kung bawasan nila kaya pangungurakot nila sa gobyerno? MGA G*GO!!!!!

[1D4LV]

tagal na nilang plano yan diba? 10% tax yata for every text message sent, so that means, magiging 1.10 na for every SMS sent....

sus... considering ang laki ng revenue sa SMS, ang laki ng kikitain ng gobyerno dito...

[odell]

pusa yan oh.. wala na sila makuhaan ng pera eh.. alam lang nila na super dame nagtetext sabayganyan sila.. its not fair!

[gretzy]

tama na naman! ang mahal na nga ng services ng smart ha, pati ba naman balance inquiry may bayad, tapos ngayon naman magkakaroon pa ng tax!

[ssaloon]

may bayad yung bal? tapos send sa 211????

[A121]

Pati nga spam messages ng smart may bayad eh. :whoa:

[ssaloon]

balik pager nalang kayo tayo? :D

[mantoy]

naknampatola!:mad:

[boybi]

sa mga post paid subscribers, tagal ng meron tax ang text, kasama ito sa VAT at kung anu-ano pang taxes!