Gov’t urged to reject IMF proposal to tax mobile telecom services

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers on Wednesday urged the government to deny the proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which seeks to impose excise tax on mobile telecommunication services.

House deputy majority leader and Valenzuela City Representative Magtanggol Gunigundo said in a statement that the proposal had no legal basis and “will run counter to the administration’s no new tax

policy.”

Since such taxes imposed on sin products were created in order to discourage consumption or usage, Gunigundo asked whether they sought to “discourage cellphone subscribers…to limit the usage of their cellphones?”

To Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Neri Colmenares, the tax would only pose a burden to the people and would “bleed the people dry of their hard-earned money just so that their client states can pay up and earn a seal of good housekeeping.”

IMF made the suggestion in its country report dated March 2012 as a way of acquiring additional revenue and mitigating the effects of excise taxes on oil, tobacco and alcohol products on its consumers.

But Colmenares, who acts as the vice-chairman of the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said that the move could be used to exploit taxes on sin products.

He said that the state would only be taxing its people yet again in its attempt to resolve its inefficient tax collection system and spending of public funds.