OSMEÑA
Businesses in Cebu City have two choices: pay due taxes or get shut down for good.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday warned business owners anew that they would need to register their businesses and file their income taxes to avoid trouble.
This time, the mayor said that he planned to form a task group that would inspect all businesses, big and small, to find out if the establishments have permit to operate.
Otherwise, it will be shut down.
“I say let’s set up a system that will create the counterpart of Probe ( Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, Enhancement ) that will shut down those (establishments) with no permits,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña said the team would have the power to padlock right away those establishments that would fail to present their business documents during surprise inspections.
“There’s no need to issue them with a show-cause [order]. You have no permit anyway,” said Osmeña.
Raquel Arce, Probe chief, was Osmeña’s pick to lead the team.
“She is the only one with the guts to go wherever and clear whatever that has no permit,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña estimated that over 10,000 businesses, small and large scale, are operating without licenses.
This number includes sari-sari or convenience stores, eateries, and boarding houses, and salons, among others.
Arce said she was willing to accept any task assigned to her by the mayor.
She said that as soon as she would be given order to padlock any establishment that did not comply with the city’s policy, she would not hesitate to implement it.
Before Arce was assigned as Probe chief, she was the city market administrator during the time of former Mayor Michael Rama.
She was also designated as the supervising guard of the Old Doña Pepang Cemetery in Barangay Carreta when Osmeña returned to City Hall in 2016.
Laughing stock no more
According to Osmeña, he has become the laughing stock of the businessmen in the city because of the number of establishments that has no business permit and thus, are not paying due taxes to the city’s treasury.
“Let this be a warning to everybody. When we go in there and you have no permit to show, you close … We will seal the doors and I will make it very hard for you to apply,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña also lashed at the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), particularly at the Business Permit and Licensing Section, because of the tedious processes in applying for a business permit.
He said that small businesses just opt not to declare their businesses because of the long process and the volume of requirements that they need to comply.
Colon Street is downtown Cebu City’s business district and home to numerous small and medium business enterprises.
“It’s also the treasurer because when you get caught, you pay and then when you pay gamay ra (it’s a very small amount). If I were the businessman, why would I comply (with the business permit requirement)? Mobayad na lang ko (I will just pay the penalty),” said Osmeña.
He also said that the Joint Inspection Team composed of personnel from his office, CTO, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the City Health office is not doing a satisfactory job in inspecting the compliance of the businesses during tax mapping activities.
“What tax mapping? That’s a joke. They think that they’re doing their job but when you look at their performance, it’s a no. It is not satisfactory,” said Osmeña.
“I just don’t have enough people in City Hall that’s why I can’t replace them at once. But if you ask me if they’re doing their job, it’s a no,” Osmeña added.
Change the process
Osmeña asked anew for the Business Permit and Licensing Section to amend their process to provide ease for those who will file their businesses.
“What I’m thinking is that they will just have a list of businesses that are blacklisted — those who have been operating for years without permit. The rest, give them the benefit of the doubt and their permits,” said Osmeña.
“Sari-sari stores don’t need all those clearances required of them to apply. They are not big businesses that should comply with those requirement before they will be given the permit,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña said that he just wanted to make sure that all who do business in the city will be taxed properly, regardless of the size of the business.
“These are people who are not paying taxes. It’s not a question of having a permit , it’s a question of paying taxes,” said Osmeña.
“The people need services and I need to raise funds to deliver their needs,” he added.