Trinidad nixes tax  on NAIA passengers

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad said he will turn down a proposal made by a city councilor to impose a P50 tax on all passengers of aircraft flying out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Trinidad said the proposed ordinance is illegal and bad for the city’s tourism projects.

“Pasay is a business-friendly city. The ordinance will only discourage tourists from coming to the city. It is obvious that it has not been well-studied,” he said.

Trinidad said that if the objective of the ordinance is to generate income for the city government, there are other means of getting additional revenue.

Councilor Richard Advincula, one of the authors of the proposed ordinance, said there is a need to generate funds because the city government cannot collect real property taxes from the areas surrounding NAIA “as there are not (many) structures there, given the existing air transportation rules… as to height limitations of buildings that can be allowed construction near the airport.”

He said the city government cannot impose taxes on the airport itself since it is a property of the national government.

Advincula, however, clarified the proposed measure had just undergone first reading and “a series of hearings (or) consultations will still have to be made.”  – Rhodina Villanueva