MANILA, The Philippines-The Department of Finance (DoF) has planned that a portion of collections from possible taxes on cellular phone firms will be used for the government’s computer literacy program. But DoF head Jose Isidro N. Camacho pointed out that there is no government position yet on possible taxes on short messaging service (SMS), also known as text messaging, because the scheme is still under study.
In a paper recently submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the status of proposed cell-phone taxes, DoF said it recommends that 60 percent of the tax collected will be used for the government’s computer literacy program. The balance of 40 percent is to be remitted to a general fund.
The government said it believes that allocating the entire amount to the program would not be “prudent,” as the government is also giving out funds for the computer literacy program of the Department of Education.
