By Karen Galarpe

PRETTY SOON, you might want to think twice about sending that text message.

On a committee level, a bill in Congress has been approved that will impose a 5-centavo tax on every text message, picture, audio and video file sent. See story here.

The bill is not a law yet, but with the government standing to raise P20- to P36-billion a year from such a tax, it may look like the bill will be made into law, unless consumers make themselves heard.
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IF YOU’RE due to renew your driver’s license soon (which means your birthday is coming up—Happy birthday!), make sure you won’t be charged an unnecessary late renewal fee.

Carmen Dulguime went to the Land Transportation Office branch at the Ayala MRT last week, a few days before her birthday. After undergoing the drug test, she went to the cashier and was surprised to be charged an additional P75 as late renewal fee.

She asked the cashier when she should have renewed her license. The cashier replied, “60 days po.”
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IT’S TAX season once again, and with the deadline tomorrow, expect long lines at accredited banks and tax filing centers.

Doing this year’s ITR, one will notice the increase in exemptions effective July 6, 2008. Computing for exemptions for the year 2008 should thus follow this table:

For each dependent child, a deduction of P4,000 can be claimed for the first half of the year, and P12,500 for the second half of the year. For each child then, total additional exemption is P16,500. This is only for the first four children.

For those earning from the practice of a business or a profession, they may choose the itemized deduction to arrive at their taxable income, or the optional standard deduction. With the itemized deduction, each expense is accounted for. For those choosing the optional standard deduction, the old rate, 10 percent of gross income, is applied to income earned from January 1 to June 30. The new rate, 40 percent, is applied to income earned from July 1 to December 31.

And for those earning a gross income for the year of not more than P250,000, you are entitled to claim a deduction of P2,400 to cover premium payments on health and/or hospitalization insurance.

Have you done and filed your ITR? Do it now to avoid surcharges and penalties. (Karen Galarpe)

You all love Warren Buffett, right? Would you pay $2.1 million to have lunch with the oracle of Omaha like this Chinese investment manager who decided to pick up the tab by taking part in a high-stakes online charity auction?

Zhao Danyang, 36, will have lunch with the US billionaire at a Smith and Wollensky steakhouse restaurant in New York. He can bring seven friends to enjoy Buffett’s company for, oh, maybe two hours. Three hours max… maybe.
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We got a very interesting question from a reader and Noet Ravalo has answered it in his column today.

I am now 69 years old and still working. But my saving is only P100,000. Will the government continue to impose tax on my saving in the bank? Where is the logic here? — Rose

Most people have mixed feelings about taxes. From an intellectual standpoint, we all know that if the government stops collecting taxes tomorrow, for example, life as we know it will drastically change. But on a personal level, who wants to pay more taxes?

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