March 29, 2004
Philippines Considers Tax on Text
Every government is trying to find new sources of income in these tough times, but the Philippines may be the first place to turn to text messaging, according to
TheFeature.com.
"The Philippine Government was 200 billion pesos in debt last year, and they can't seem to agree on any more budget cuts. They are investigating a tax on text messages as one way to generate more revenue. A tax of one centavo per message could generate 500 million pesos per year.
"The sheer popularity of SMS makes it a tempting target, but taxing texters is not going to be an easy fix. The two major pre-paid carriers in the Philippines, Globe and Philippine Long Distance Telephone both oppose the tax, and they have good grounds for a fight."
Taxing text messages comes up periodically in the Philippines. See related articles:
-- Opposition to Tax On Text in the Philippines - "You can't kill the goose that lays the golden egg," Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. chairman Manuel Pangilinan said, opposing the finance department's proposal in March of this year.
-- Tax On Text Stirs Controversy In The Philippines - Published in 2002, Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho's statement issued to the media on the government's proposal to impose a 10 percent tax on text messages - and the public's outcry.
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