QC loses millions in billboard taxes

The Quezon City government is losing millions in taxes from delinquent commercial billboard operators.

This was bared recently by Councilor Winston ‘Winnie’ Castelo as he vowed to step up his campaign against "nuisance billboards".

According to Castelo, operators of billboards posted in various parts of Metro Manila, particularly in Quezon City, have been remiss in paying their contractor taxes to the local government.

Early this year, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. issued a memorandum requiring billboard operators to pay contractor taxes.

Under the said memorandum, 100 percent of the billboard operator’s gross sales receipts is taxable if the billboard is located in Quezon City. The rate specified under Article 8, Section 19 of the Quezon City Revenue Code applies.

At present, Castelo said the city council is drafting an omnibus ordinance that would strictly regulate the billboard industry. The proposed ordinance would prohibit billboards atop buildings, overpasses, center islands, and major thoroughfares as they pose danger to motorists and pedestrians.

He said Quezon City could have implemented more development projects had the contractors abided by the law and paid their taxes.

In a public hearing called by the city council led by majority floorleader Ariel Inton and attended by representatives from the commercial billboard industry, the local law-making body established that billboard operators have been paying merely signage fees and avoiding the contractor taxes required of them.

The hearing paved the way for other relevant discussions that led the city council to discover that many of the billboard operators are tax delinquents. He said the local government is determined to excel in tax collection efficiency aside from protecting the welfare of its constituents.