MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Wednesday branded Albay Rep. Joey Salceda as a “curse on our country” as he opposed the latter’s proposal to tax digital services.
Salceda, who also chairs the House ways and means committee, earlier filed a measure pushing for the taxation of digital services offered by Netflix, Spotify, and Lazada, among others, which he said would yield an estimated P29.1 billion annually in incremental revenues.
Salceda said the new tax measures may be referred to as “Netflix tax” for video and music streaming sites, “Facebook ads tax” for digital advertisements, and “Lazada tax” for online marketplaces.
“(N)ow we’re gonna done that for taxes? Why not tax oxygen. My friend Joey Salceda, whom I so admired, has become a curse on our country,” Locsin, a former congressman, said on Twitter.
And now we're gonna done that for taxes? Why not tax oxygen. My friend Joey Salceda, whom I so admired, has become a curse on our country. https://t.co/kNsPyVMpp3
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 19, 2020
The foreign affairs chief proposed taxing digital services used by business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies or by Philippine gaming offshore operators (POGOs).
“(Inter-Agency Task Force), local governments, here’s a great suggestion; nothing stupid like taxing the internet. Why not just POGOs and BPO use of it?” Locsin said in a separate tweet.
IATF, local governments, here's a great suggestion; nothing stupid like taxing the internet. Why not just POGOs and BPO use of it? Ah but then they are taxed under the table. They make money; we ordinary people use it so we can be heard about how stupid our officials are. https://t.co/kFSl6qJpEA
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 19, 2020
“Stick to the money makers that can’t pass their added costs to the public. Money should stay in the pockets of those who earn it honestly. Tax digital services to BPOs and POGOs, tax a lot. Or maybe they are already taxed but DOF doesn’t know it,” he added.
Useless. Stick to the money makers that can't pass their added costs to the public. Money should stay in the pockets of those who earn it honestly. Tax digital services to BPOs and POGOs, tax a lot. Or maybe they are already taxed but DOF doesn't know it. https://t.co/0PL5fwnEPr
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 20, 2020
“KILL BILL…” Locsin said in another tweet, alluding to the measure filed by Salceda.
KILL BILL. Parts 1 & 2. Nice movie. Uma Thurman was outstanding. Did you know her father was the foremost scholar of Tibetan Buddhism? https://t.co/Z4TzKwJOWD
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 20, 2020
‘No new taxes’
Salceda said his proposal does not impose “new taxes” but would just ensure that digital companies “pay their fair share.”
“Assuming you’re a company that sets up in the Philippines, and you do video-streaming or music-streaming services, you will definitely pay taxes. But companies like Netflix and Spofify don’t. That’s obviously not fair,” the lawmaker said in an earlier statement.
“Simply put, these are not new taxes. These are tax administration measures that we hope will capture the value more fairly, para pantay naman sa lahat ng negosyo sa Pilipinas. Especially when local businesses are struggling due to (COVID-19), and there are these companies that are making a killing because of isolation but are not paying enough taxes,” he added.