My Metro Manila

IN the absence of major stakeholders, the House ways and means committee approved on Tuesday the substitute bill that will impose an excise tax on every short message service (SMS) and multimedia message service (MMS) sent from mobile phones, and on every overseas dispatch, message or conversation originating from the Philippines.

Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro voted no to the approval of the measure because it will result in a pass-on charge to the public. He also raised privacy issues with the installation of a metering device by the state, and the question on uniformity and progressive taxation and equal protection of the law.

However, Speaker Prospero Nograles assured the public that any move to raise revenues to support the national
government’s development programs would not add to their burdens.

Senate cool to text-tax bill

Senators are not keen on readily endorsing the House-approved “tax on text” bill, insisting on the inclusion of a key provision that the levy should not be passed on by telco firms to their subscribers.

But Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Senate ways and means panel that will conduct separate hearings on the measure, indicated that senators may come around to supporting the revenue measure “if there’s no pass-on to consumers.”

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., in a separate statement, reiterated his opposition to the imposition of additional taxes on texting that will be shouldered by subscribers.

“Texting has developed to be the cheapest and most accessible means of communication, and new taxes imposed on the public will definitely burden them,” Revilla said. “While the funds [from the tax] to be plowed to education and other services are vital, it’s important to ensure that the public does not suffer from a new burden,” he added in Filipino.

Nograles, for his part, said he would seek an assurance from the authors of the so-called “tax on text” bill and the committee on ways and means chaired by Javier that any tax on text will not increase the existing text cost now being charged to millions of consumers before throwing his full support for the measure.

“It is very clear that based on our previous hearings on this [tax on] text issue, there is no need to increase cost on the short messaging system service of telecommunications companies because the P1 per text that is already being charged from the consumers is more than enough to cover the five centavo tax for each text,” Nograles said. He noted studies showing the estimated threshold amount or cost of text is about 25 centavos.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Danilo Suarez of Quezon said the minority will have its time to discuss the pros and cons of the measure once it is debated on by members of the House in plenary session.

“Regarding the concern of privacy, uniformity, equal taxation, etc., this will all be discussed intelligently, thoroughly by the House in plenary session,” said Suarez, author of House Resolution 282 that seeks to collect a fee of 5 centavos for every P1 text message sent and installation of a metering the device to monitor transactions.

Suarez’s resolution was incorporated in the substitute bill that seeks to impose a 5-centavo excise tax for every SMS.

Lakas Rep. Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur, author of House Bill 6625 imposing an excise tax on every SMS and MMS sent, has asked the committee to insert in the substitute bill a provision on no-pass-on charge in order to protect consumers.

But Javier, in an interview at the sidelines of the hearing, deemed that too problematic. “It’s very hard to put a no-pass-on provision because it is an indirect tax. It’s the cost of doing business…you have to pass it on, otherwise the business will be losing,” said Javier. (With Butch Fernandez).

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