Continuing the discussion on policy issues, an article on whether to tax the Internet became the primary point of discussion as the same question was asked to the class. It must be noted first that the question and the article itself talks about taxing the Internet access, usage and online sales, not the Internet perse.
In the US, some states have already started collecting access and sales taxes for transactions done online. An access tax is a tax fee a customer pays an ISP such as America Online. Sales taxes, on the other hand, are an e-commerce tax that would require the vendor to collect a sales tax when someone purchases something over the Internet. Other proposals in taxation scheme to be included in the “Internet tax” are use tax, delivery tax, etc. Although the US Congress had imposed a moratorium on new access taxes, several states had the taxes in place before Congress acted on the moratorium.
Going back to the question on whether to tax the Internet access and usage it would be appropriate to consider if these US laws and regulations can be applied in the country. In the US federal system, states can independently impose taxes on their own borders. Thus, they differ significantly in their approaches to taxes and the government considers that difference a good thing. To them competition between states mean that an American citizen who is unhappy with the policies of one state could move to another. For instance, some states allow Internet taxes to be collected if this would benefit its population. A citizen who does not want to pay a sales tax in his or her online transaction can choose to move the transaction to another state which does not implement a sales tax on online purchases. Thus, as the states experiments with different policies it would be able to determine what is appropriate and acceptable to its population.
However, in the Philippines the government implements a uniform set of rules in taxation on most basic commodities, products and services. Competitions among provinces or regions are merely in terms of progress in the government’s effort to collect tax efficiently. But the “payback” of the tax collected in terms of infrastructure, peace and order, basic services, etc. are basically the same in all provinces. The government has yet to come up with policies regarding Internet taxation. Even the drafted information and communications technology roadmap of the country do not have a provision that discusses Internet access and usage taxation. Should it choose to collect Internet taxes, it must first formulate a policy regarding Internet access and usage, and more importantly specify its intention in doing so.
Moreover, the country is on the verge of aggressively developing its ICT program as it competes with its neighboring Asian countries in information and communications technology. The government actually encourages individuals, companies, and even its offices, to use the Internet to hasten the delivery of government services. It would be detrimental to the program’s success if it decides to tax the primary medium towards its progress.
In relation to ICT, the article on “New Directions for Digital Government Research” became the second point of discussion. It talks about the role of information technology in improving processes by which government makes regulatory decisions. Workers on regulatory issues increasingly recognized the potential benefits from new applications of IT in rulemaking process. As an example, the e-Government Act of 2002 of the Bush administration directs regulatory agencies to deploy technology to enhance public participation in government decision-making.
Putting it in the Philippine context, one may question as to whether the government is really serious in as much as public consultations on issues affecting its people is concerned. It has been observed that in most cases public opinions and ideas which should have been captured in public consultations are seldom translated into public policies due to some political interests of the government. Thus, some laws being enacted lack or miss to address the real issues.
Another point of concern is the government’s seriousness in its policy implementation. Or rather, it is because that there was inadequate exerted effort on the policy formulation of the issues at hand in the first place. An example was raised during the class as to the government’s pronouncement to increase power capacity of hydro-electric plants in Luzon by twice as much of its current capacity. The Department of Energy is tasked to deliver the goods but the agency can only do much because there is no clear understanding on how it should be carried out. Hydro-electric plants take years to be built and it involves enormous funding in which the government has also no clear provision on how and where to source it.
The information and communications technology program of the government is supposed to address the gap in the traditional way the government is conducting its public consultations. However, government efforts to fully exploit the use of ICT as a tool to improve access to and delivery of government services must be supported by policies on e-Governance. A comprehensive policy on ICT will outline how the government would manage, procure and use information technologies to more efficiently deliver services. Some of the key policy issues to address shall include data sharing among government agencies, interoperability of government systems, data privacy in government.
In the US, some states have already started collecting access and sales taxes for transactions done online. An access tax is a tax fee a customer pays an ISP such as America Online. Sales taxes, on the other hand, are an e-commerce tax that would require the vendor to collect a sales tax when someone purchases something over the Internet. Other proposals in taxation scheme to be included in the “Internet tax” are use tax, delivery tax, etc. Although the US Congress had imposed a moratorium on new access taxes, several states had the taxes in place before Congress acted on the moratorium.
Going back to the question on whether to tax the Internet access and usage it would be appropriate to consider if these US laws and regulations can be applied in the country. In the US federal system, states can independently impose taxes on their own borders. Thus, they differ significantly in their approaches to taxes and the government considers that difference a good thing. To them competition between states mean that an American citizen who is unhappy with the policies of one state could move to another. For instance, some states allow Internet taxes to be collected if this would benefit its population. A citizen who does not want to pay a sales tax in his or her online transaction can choose to move the transaction to another state which does not implement a sales tax on online purchases. Thus, as the states experiments with different policies it would be able to determine what is appropriate and acceptable to its population.
However, in the Philippines the government implements a uniform set of rules in taxation on most basic commodities, products and services. Competitions among provinces or regions are merely in terms of progress in the government’s effort to collect tax efficiently. But the “payback” of the tax collected in terms of infrastructure, peace and order, basic services, etc. are basically the same in all provinces. The government has yet to come up with policies regarding Internet taxation. Even the drafted information and communications technology roadmap of the country do not have a provision that discusses Internet access and usage taxation. Should it choose to collect Internet taxes, it must first formulate a policy regarding Internet access and usage, and more importantly specify its intention in doing so.
Moreover, the country is on the verge of aggressively developing its ICT program as it competes with its neighboring Asian countries in information and communications technology. The government actually encourages individuals, companies, and even its offices, to use the Internet to hasten the delivery of government services. It would be detrimental to the program’s success if it decides to tax the primary medium towards its progress.
In relation to ICT, the article on “New Directions for Digital Government Research” became the second point of discussion. It talks about the role of information technology in improving processes by which government makes regulatory decisions. Workers on regulatory issues increasingly recognized the potential benefits from new applications of IT in rulemaking process. As an example, the e-Government Act of 2002 of the Bush administration directs regulatory agencies to deploy technology to enhance public participation in government decision-making.
Putting it in the Philippine context, one may question as to whether the government is really serious in as much as public consultations on issues affecting its people is concerned. It has been observed that in most cases public opinions and ideas which should have been captured in public consultations are seldom translated into public policies due to some political interests of the government. Thus, some laws being enacted lack or miss to address the real issues.
Another point of concern is the government’s seriousness in its policy implementation. Or rather, it is because that there was inadequate exerted effort on the policy formulation of the issues at hand in the first place. An example was raised during the class as to the government’s pronouncement to increase power capacity of hydro-electric plants in Luzon by twice as much of its current capacity. The Department of Energy is tasked to deliver the goods but the agency can only do much because there is no clear understanding on how it should be carried out. Hydro-electric plants take years to be built and it involves enormous funding in which the government has also no clear provision on how and where to source it.
The information and communications technology program of the government is supposed to address the gap in the traditional way the government is conducting its public consultations. However, government efforts to fully exploit the use of ICT as a tool to improve access to and delivery of government services must be supported by policies on e-Governance. A comprehensive policy on ICT will outline how the government would manage, procure and use information technologies to more efficiently deliver services. Some of the key policy issues to address shall include data sharing among government agencies, interoperability of government systems, data privacy in government.
MIPOLAW Class 2006
