Council bent on slapping additional taxes on Telcos

COUNCILOR Danilo Dayanghirang intends to file the resolution that would impose new tax on the telecommunication companies operating in the city.

Dayanghirang, also the chairman of the committee on finance, ways and means, and appropriations, follows the previous suggestion of Councilor Conrado Baluran to slap more taxes on the telcos.

Baluran, in his previous privilege speech, said there is a need to have a legislative measure to generate income from the

telcos, aside from existing local taxes and regulatory fees being imposed.

“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 said.

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.”

This, Baluran said, is the reason why telcos become the top business juridical entities in terms of their sales and profits.

In the committee hearing, Narciso Diaz, regional acquisition and management head of Globe, said they have territory distributors for the sales of prepaid cards and that they are paying the correct taxes to the city.

As a recommendation, Dayanghirang said there is a need for the City Treasurer’s Office to show a narrative report of the local tax payments of telcos, including the real property tax for their equipment and cell site towers.

The City Treasurer’s Office should also conduct ocular inspection on the territory distributors of telcos to validate their sales report in relation to their declared taxes.