City records higher real tax collections

CEBU, Philippines - For only 19 days, the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office had collected over P583 million in business taxes from January 2 to January 20 this year, which is much higher compared to only P487 million business tax collections for the same period in 2012.

Acting City Treasurer Emma Villarete said some of the businessmen decided to just pay their taxes through quarterly basis that is why the collections did not reach the initial target of P700 million.

Had the owners of the 23,521 business establishments paid their total amount of taxes to the City Treasurer’s Office, the collections may reach to P1.173 Billion.

Those who paid their business taxes not later than January 20 of every year will not be made to pay surcharges, as what the tax collectors will do for those who settle their business taxes beyond the specified date.

But the tax collectors still encourage the owners of business establishments who failed to settle their obligation to pay their taxes directly at the City Treasurer’s Office to avoid that their establishments will be subject of a public auction.

Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code empowers the local government units to sell the concerned properties of the delinquent taxpayers in order to settle their tax obligations, which is considered as the lifeblood of the government.

Villarete expected that their collections from the real property taxes will also go up because of so many newly constructed buildings in any parts of the city. Real property taxes will be derived from the owners of buildings, lands and machineries.

The city had already auctioned several properties whose owners failed to pay their taxes, although the owners still has a one-year period to redeem their properties from the date of auction. – (FREEMAN)