We refer to the letter ‘Are telco fees for charity shows really necessary?’ (TODAY, 23 July) by Mr Benson Mak.

Services rendered by a GST-registered business are subject to GST. For the televised charity shows mentioned by the writer, the telco imposes a fee for its dial-in donation service (i.e. a 1900 number). As this is a charge for a service provided by a GST-registered business (the telco), it is subject to GST, which is separate from the donation component.

GST is levied on all local telephone charges. This is in line with the broad-based design of our GST system which has minimal exemptions to keep our GST system simple.

We would like to thank Mr Mak for giving us the opportunity to clarify this matter.