A government decree that would temporarily suspend tax credits enjoyed by the media in Honduras sparked controversy in the country, according to a report from the website Centinela Económico. The bill was presented to the Honduran Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 15, according to La Prensa.
Currently in Honduras, there are no taxes on the importation of books, magazines, newspapers and other publications. The media also enjoy the free use of ground and air postal service to distribute their publications and exchange correspondence, and exemption from paying taxes on the importation of machinery and other capital investments to print newspapers, according to a several articles in the Expression of Thought Law.
Newspapers like El Heraldo called the bill a "disruption of press freedom" while La Prensa said the measure was "revenge against the media that have been critical of the government."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
