Press Release
September 14, 2009

CHIZ: TAX LUXURY CARS, JEWELRY, NOT TEXT MESSAGING

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday said lawmakers should set their sights on luxury goods such as motor vehicles and jewelry instead of taxing text messages.

"The proponents of the measure to tax text messaging seem to have a skewed sense of priority. Instead of providing tax relief to the Filipino public, they think of adding burden," Escudero said in a statement.

"Taxation should be based on the ability of taxpayers to pay. We all know text messaging is prevalent among the lower socio-economic classes, that about 90 percent of mobile phone lines are pre-paid. Imposing a tax on it will hit the masa more than those with the capacity to pay more. So why not increase the taxes on items used by those who can and are willing to pay, like luxury cars and jewelry?"

He explained that those who can afford to buy these luxury items certainly have the capacity to pay for more taxes, in contrast to the poor who are considered heavy text messaging users. The senator said that text messaging has become the one of the cheapest modes of communication. For poor Filipinos, it has even become an essential part of life.

"If the government has conceded that it cannot improve its tax collection efficiency nor curb corruption in revenue-generating agencies, then it should at least tax those who are better off, not those who have less," the 39-year old senator said.

The ways and means committee of the House of Representatives recently approved a proposal to impose a five-centavo tax on text messages, highlighting a "no pass-on" provision in the measure to supposedly insulate the people from the tax.

"The no pass-on provision is useless and ill-conceived. Ensuring compliance will be virtually impossible. This measure should be stopped dead in its tracks and be prevented from moving forward," Escudero said.

The senator vowed to block the proposal if and when it reaches the Senate.

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