Tax on Publications

TAX ON PUBLICATIONS WHEREAS there is a Value Added Tax or sales tax on newspapers and magazines in several Latin American countries and some states in the United States, and the Ecuadorean Congress is considering this type of tax this tax only affects the written press and not the electronic media, which are broadcast on frequencies belonging to the state, and therefore it is discriminatory this unusual type of levy punishes consumers of the print media and threatens the free and unfettered flow of news this tax is illegal and unconstitutional since it violates Article 24 (equality under the law); Article 13 (freedom of thought and expression) and in particular paragraphs 1 and 3; and Article 1 (obligation to respect rights) paragraph 1 of the Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica (American Convention on Human Rights) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to reject the imposition of a Value Added Tax or sales tax on users of written publications since it is a discriminatory measure that violates the principal of equality under the law to urge the appropriate institutions to abrogate this tax, which violates the principles of the American Convention on Human Rights to inform the special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Inter-American Human Rights Court of this concern.