Mindanaoatoday.com | Tax relief boosts collection in Oro
By: URIEL QUILINGUING
A 72.13-percent tax collection efficiency has been recorded in Cagayan de Oro in the first five months this year.
Mayor Rolando A. Uy disclosed this in his first annual report on Thursday, June 15, attributing such to the tax relief the city government granted to delinquent and discounts for early payers.
Uy’s report was the highlight of the 73rd Charter Day tribute at the Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center in Indahag village this city.
With this, City Hall is set to generate about P5.41-billion local revenues and reach its P7.5-billion annual budget which the City Council has authorized.
The city mayor lauded the City Treasurer’s Office for collecting P576-million from tax delinquencies and advanced tax payments.
In November last year, the City Council enacted Ordinance No. 14385-2022 which granted tax relief to delinquent real property and business taxpayers, public market and terminal stallholders, and traffic violators.
The Tax Amnesty Ordinance of 2022 offers condonation of interests, surcharges, penalties, nd arrearages, for those who failed to pay in 2021 and previous years, thus easing the financial burden of taxpayers until June 30, this year.
But any person, company, or corporation that was previously granted tax relief program, yet failed to comply their commitments to pay real property taxes and/or business taxes are disqualified.
The measure was also intended as a strategy to hasten economic recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
P1.58 billion was generated from the registration of 3,870 new businesses, as of March this year, bringing the cumulative total to P3.31 billion since July 2022–when the Uy administration assumed.
As of the end of Abril this year, 27,309 businesses have been registered, about 23-percent increase over the 22,032 in the same month last year. In March this year, the Business Permit and Licensing Office registered 3,870 new businesses in the city.
Last year, the Bureau of Local Government Finance, in its preliminary estimates, placed Cagayan de Oro’s total revenues at P5.623 billion, P2.759-billion of it was her internal revenue allotment (IRA).
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