Davao City councilors mull additional taxes for telcos

THE CITY Council passed on first reading on Tuesday a legislation that will generate income from telecommunication firms on top of the existing local taxes and regulatory fees.

The said measure was based on the privilege speech of Councilor Conrado Baluran, who chairs the committee on transportation and communication, dated June 10.

In Baluran’s speech, the usage of Internet connection and cell phone network had become a primordial need, hence, “telco companies, such as Smart/ PLDT and Globe, have become the top grosser business juridical entities in terms of their sales and in profit in the country.”

Baluran added that the companies have the “guts to religiously charge its customers, both postpaid and prepaid, a surmountable amount, especially in their roaming services and text promos.”

Baluran’s proposal was endorsed to the committee on finance, ways and means, and appropriations, chaired by Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang. They will look into possible legislative measures to generate income from those TELCOS aside from

existing local taxes being imposed and regulatory fees.

Dayanghirang said he is affirmative on the proposed matter.

“We will possibly tax them based on existing local taxes. However, I will still have to wait that this will be properly forwarded to my committee so that we can study further on its provisions. As of now, we haven’t studied yet the percentage that we will collect from them,” Dayanghirang said.

When asked for the end goal in imposing more taxes on the telcos, Baluran said, “We still have to conduct more studies on this matter.”

“Those telcos are raking billions in revenue from our people. So it is only appropriate to take necessary steps to collect from them what is due for the city government of Davao and for our people in general,” Baluran added.