Lawmakers urge gov’t to ignore IMF chief’s proposal to tax text messages

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers on Monday urged the government to ignore International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde’s suggestion to impose tax on text messages in the country.

House minority leader Danilo Suarez and Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino both gave thumbs down on Lagarde’s suggestion to raise government revenues.

Suarez said that what should be pursued is the crafting of a measure regulating telecommunication firms’ promotions which often result in poor services for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers.

Palatino believes that the government was just easily swayed by world financial institutions, saying a measure proposing to tax text messaging “has long been buried in the deep confines of Congress.”

But he argued that reviving such a bill would only put the burden on ordinary Filipinos.

Instead of entertaining Lagarde’s suggestion, Palatino said that lawmakers should instead work on pending key priority measures.