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Magandang balita sa mga taong bumabatikos sa panukalang pagpapataw ng tax sa texting na kung saan ay pinag usapan 2 weeks ago sa Kongresso na kung saan nagmula ito sa consolidated bill nina Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson HB 6625 at Rep. Danilo Suarez HR 282 na naglalayon na patawan ng 5-centavo tax ang bawat text message text message
Ibinalita ng grupong Txt Power ay hindi na itutuloy ng Kongreso ang panukalang pagbubuwis sa texting, kasabay nito inilabas din ng grupong Txt Power sa pangunguna president ng grupo ni Anthony Cruz;
“Consumers score victory as House panel reconsiders vote on text tax
Besieged by opposition from all sides, the House Ways and Means Committee took back its Sept. 8 vote in favor of the still-unnumbered substitute House Bill imposing a five-centavo tax on text messages and all other mobile phone services, national and international.
This is a victory for consumers. We hope the House will totally stop it and archive it, along with all previous text tax bills since 2001,” said TXTPower president Anthony Ian Cruz.
Cruz noted that the House hearings have exposed the fact that telcos in fact spend little to provide text messages and yet rake in superprofits. “The lack of regulation has allowed telcos to arbitrarily impose prices way beyond the actual prices of their products and services. In fact, Congressman Danilo Suarez, a chief proponent of the text tax law, admitted to the media last week that text messages should be free.”
“These hearings should continue but not towards imposing a new tax, but to lower prices and rates,” said Cruz.”The House leadership should order the appropriate committees to immediately convene to investigate the telcos, their pricing, net incomes, abusive practices, so that we can soon have lower prices for mobile phone services, across the board.”
Earlier, TXTPower led consumers in assailing the text tax bill before the House panel. Its position paper underscored consumers’ demand for lower prices and rates, and batted instead for a tax on windfall profits of telcos.
Cruz told the House members that Congress erred by making the text tax bill. “This bill is not about the telcos. It is about consumers. If they really want to tax telcos, they should spare consumers and focus on the billions of superprofits of Globe and Smart, and their parent companies.”
Congressmen Rufus Rodriguez, Teddy Casino, Raymond Palatino, Monico Puentevella, Risa Hontiveros Baraquel praised the four-page TXTPower position paper.
Rodriguez moved that the committee suspend the vote on the bill, taking back the Sept. 8 vote which drew the ire of consumer groups like TXTPower, OFW groups, labor unions, other House members and senators.
Committee chair Ezequiel Javier was the only congressman who supported the bill during the hearing.”
“Tagumpay ito para sa consumers. We will ask Congress to lower rates and prices next” ito ang mensahe na pinadala ni Cruz na kung saan ipinagdiinan niyang ang mga consumers ang magiging biktima dito at hindi ang mga telecommunications company. Ayon din sa kanya na mananatiling magbabantay ang Txt Power sa mga ganitong uring paglalamang sa mga cell phone users at ang next step nila ay mas mapababa pa ang presyo o rates ng sms at call ng na kung saan mas makakatulong pa sa mga cell phone users.
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Blogger’s Point Of View
Good news ito, dahil kung sakaling matuloy ito panibagong dalahin na naman ito ni Juan dela Cruz na magpapabigat sa kanyang bulsa. Bukod dito ay nabalitaan ko kaya isinusulong ito sa kadahilanang kailangan ng panibagong source of funds para sa kaban ng bayan. Hindi sa pagmamagaling isang katanungan lang po bago tayo maghain ng panukalang kagaya nito at excuse natin ang kaban ng bayan hindi ba’t dapat alamin muna natin kung bakit nauubos ang pondo ng bansa at saan ito nadadala? Naging pabigat na sa mga Filipino ang sandamukal na pagtaas ng presyo, buwis na binabayaran at marami pang iba, siguro tama na ang panibagong suhero na ipapasok mo sa katawan nya para kunan pa sya ng natitirang kinabubuhay nya pa.
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