City expected to earn P1 billion from properties of delinquent taxpayers

CEBU, Philippines - Acting Cebu City treasurer Renee Empaces yesterday said the city is expected to earn at least P1 billion if it will successfully auction the first batch of real properties owned by the wealthy delinquent taxpayers in the city.

Empaces, the concurrent regional director of the Bureau of Local Government-Finance in Central Visayas, said that the city officials have already decided to conduct a series of auctions of real properties owned by the delinquent taxpayers within this year.

“Kining atong auction sale karong buwana, mokita ang Cebu City ani og mga one billion pesos kay unahon man nato pagbaligya ang mga dagko nga properties,” Empaces told The FREEMAN.

Empaces also said that after the auction of the properties that have huge unpaid taxes, the city will also auction the smaller properties.

But the city had changed its old policy where those who will participate in the auction of the delinquent taxpayers’ properties will only pay the amount equivalent to the unpaid tax obligation to the city and not the actual value of the property.

“Ang paagi karon nga ang presyo na g’yod sa property maoy basihan sa value. Ang sobra nga halin sa property among ihatag sa tag-iya kon ma-final na ang pagpalit human sa usa ka tuig nga redemption period,” Empaces said.

Empaces refused yet to reveal the names of the property owners until after the list would be published in the newspapers days from now.

The law allows the sale through auction of the properties if their owner fails to pay their taxes to satisfy their tax obligation to the government, although the owners are still given the chance to redeem their properties within a one-year period from the date of sale.

But even if the properties of the delinquent taxpayers have already been sold through auction, the name of ownership cannot be transferred yet to the buyer until after the owner fails to redeem it within the redemption period. Empaces further said that the city may not increase its taxes this year and one of the steps to collect more revenues is to implement the provisions of the law and enforce the collection of taxes from the delinquent taxpayers.

“Human sa pag-auction nato sa mga real properties (land, buildings and machineries) isunod nato ang pagbaligya sa properties sa mga delinquent business taxpayers,” Empaces said. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)