My column tomorrow will be on Robin Hemley’s latest Dispatch from Manila, as published in Timothy McSweeny’s Internet Tendency. It details the months-long embargo on book importations that resulted from the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s discovering it could reinterpret international treaties with impunity, until booksellers, faced with escalating storage costs, cried uncle and surrendered to the BIR by paying the fees it demanded.
This brings up my past entry, What the?? concerning the long-standing problem any booklover’s had with our government -which is, its trying to impose tariffs and duties even though the law grants exemptions to the public and others.
In contrast, blogger-turned member of parliament Jeff Ooi, in a recent entry on income taxes in Malaysia, pointed out the Malaysian government makes book and computer purchases tax-deductible.
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (3)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (6)
- May 2009 (11)
- April 2009 (6)
- March 2009 (5)
- February 2009 (7)
- January 2009 (11)
- December 2008 (7)
- November 2008 (14)
- October 2008 (8)
- September 2008 (3)
- August 2008 (10)
- July 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (2)
- April 2008 (3)
- December 2007 (5)
- November 2007 (5)
- October 2007 (8)
- September 2007 (13)
- August 2007 (6)
- July 2007 (14)
- June 2007 (5)
- May 2007 (24)
- April 2007 (23)
- March 2007 (18)
- Foreign affairs (17)
- May 2007 elections (36)
- May 2010 elections (5)
- Media matters (22)
- Philippine politics (131)
- Religious issues (13)
- Rule of law (13)
- Terrorism (7)
- test (1)
- Uncategorized (41)
- US relations (16)
One Feedback on "The Great Book Blockade of 2009"
bert merced
this is really an act from the dark ages. govt doesnt know whats good for the people and this is another evidence of how narrow minded people are in the govt. elected or otherwise.
Please Leave a Comment!