Cebu City earns P7 billion from tax collection in 2019
CEBU CITY, Philippines –The Cebu City government reported an earning of P7 billion from the city’s tax collection from January 2019 to October 2019, which already includes business taxes, permits and licensing community taxes, and other collections.
Mayor Edgardo Labella said the Cebu City Treasurer Office recently reported the city’s revenue and how they were able to increase the collection in the early months of Labella’s administration, which is through efficient and thorough assessment and collection of taxes among establishments.
The task force for tax collection Labella formed in August 2019, which was formed to profile, inspect, and map all real property units and business establishments in the city, have been successful in collecting more taxes this year.
The target of the city for the collection of taxes is only P1.1 billion for 2019, but the city was already able to collect P7 billion, which Labella said can be credited to the City Treasurer’s Office intensified collection.
“There is no need to increase taxes. This P7 billion proves that what we truly need is an efficient system of collection,” said Labella.
The mayor said the city will target a bigger collection in 2020, as bigger revenues will mean more services for the city’s constituents.
Meanwhile, Labella said that the League of Cities in the Philippines, of which he is president, is already in talks with President Rodrigo Duterte on the Mandanas case.
The Mandanas case is a case filed by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas, which was was ruled favorably by the Supreme Court (SC) to allow the local government units a share of Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) computed and sourced from all national taxes and not just from the national internal revenue taxes.
Labella said they are now discussing with President Duterte on how the SC ruling can be implemented, and he expects the city will now get its proper share of the IRA.
If the city gains a bigger revenue, it will be able to provide more services, build more infrastructure, and conduct more programs for its constituents. /bmjo
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