Mexico

Whoever is aware of Mexico's newest Tax proposal (a 3% Tax on IT including INTERNET access) might be reminded of the infamous quote,"We are on the border of the abyss... but today we will take a firm step forward!" (loose translation)

Seriously, as if the place wasn't already seen as a pit technology-wise. Where companies hesitate to even consider sending video games to home owners and a depressing number of children haven't even learned how to type on a keyboard... Now we have a bunch of obviously computer/internet-illiterate politicians who believe that forcing a tax on the internet is going to be beneficial.

Haven't they considered that Mexico already is really expensive already for really low quality services? That by doing that, people that have to go to Internet Cafes will have to pay even more for the short time they use the computers? That some schools might consider passing the chance for a connection to reduce costs? That the INEGI once pointed out that people who earned less than minimum wage were the owners of about half of the computers in the country? What will this tax do to them?

What about people that will hesitate to continue having it, despite the need their children might have of it? Computer Illiteracy in Mexico is pretty wide-spread, and making it more difficult to reach is not going to solve it.

They might as well build a real wall on the borders (both north and south), prohibit interactions with the rest of the world and fester in their own stupidity. But we cannot pretend that this is new, Mexico has previous history of stupidity in Taxes, as I am sure every country in the world does to some level... take the British Tax over owning TVs for example.

Those familiar with Mexican Taxes might also remember the "Tenencia" a "temporary" Tax introduced in 1962 by former President Adolfo Lopez Mateos to pay for the projected costs of the 1968 Olympic Games to be held in Mexico City.

This tax became so convenient that the government completely "forgot" that it was a temporary measure and as such it carried on irritating everyone that owned a vehicle, until recently, when President Calderon finally put down a termination date- by the 1st January in 2012, (which is also the Mayan Year for the "End of the World" as sensationalists like to call it) it will be gone. Supposedly.

So, what is the response to it? Well, in the long history of rather useless shows of solidarity, instead of marching (which would have been just as useless as it always is in Mexico) people decided to Twitter messages of discomfort about the tax.

Now. I don't have a problem with this method of complaint. In fact, I think it is better than messing up the traffic of Mexico City even more for such random causes as, I don't know, still supporting AMLO (classic show of downright stupidity.)

My problem is that they have stopped. Just like the marches, once they have done it, people tend to feel better about themselves and simply forget to check up on it believing that they have said their share and that is enough.

I say put pressure on the bastards and force their hand. They are elected officials -that means that they can be kicked out by the people that elected them.