Belmonte extends business tax deadline

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has signed an ordinance extending the deadline for payment of first quarter business taxes and fees.

With that, taxpayers who were unable to beat the Jan. 20 deadline can still settle their tax obligations without any penalty, subcharges or interest.

Belmonte encouraged taxpayers to take advantage of the 10-day grace period. The ordinance was authored by Councilors Ariel Inton, Winston Castelo, Voltaire Liban III and Jorge Banal Jr.

To date, there are about 65,000 businesses in Quezon City.

On orders from Belmonte, the city government has extended the working days and business hours of offices involved in tax payments.

The city hall is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate taxpayers.

All business taxes and due for the current shall be subject to a 25-percent surcharge and monthly interest of two percent if not paid on or before the Jan. 31 deadline.

As of yesterday Dr. Victor Endriga reported that business tax collections have already breached P1 billion, which is P76 million more than what was collected last year. Business taxes provide the bulk of the city’s tax revenue. — Perseus Echeminada