Mandaue City honors top taxpayers

In the recent celebration of Mandaue City’s 47th Charter Day, the city gave honor to its outstanding taxpayers. Topping in the rolls in the Business Tax, for the corporate category are the Visayan Electric Company, Metro Retail Stores Group, and  ZuelligPharma Corporation. 

On the Business Tax for individual or sole proprietorship, Vic Enterprises was the top taxpayer, followed by Waterborne Freight Forwarder, and PFE Industries Services.

In the Real Property Tax category, topping the list was San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation, Everjust Realty Development Corporation, and Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines.  On the Real Property Tax Individual category, Mr. Wilson Ng headed the group with Euberto P. Go and Joseph Alquisola following.

In the many lists of companies that stream the headlines for being highest in sales, or income or profit, whatever the mark, nothing can beat the honor that is given to the top tax payers in a country. Why?  Because not everyone wants to pay their taxes. In fact some companies go to great lengths to keep their income reports low so their tax valuation do not also make high marks.

In a brief conversation with Mr. Wilson Ng, of Ng Kai Development Corporation, he shared that he felt honored to be among the top tax payers although he initially did not want to talk about it, saying he felt his was just a small contribution as he has only small holdings.  But the point has been made, big or small, it is how one gives importance to a corporate citizens role to pay his taxes properly.

“The award is an indication of how people respect their country.  How we value where

we are,” Mr. Ng said.

Taxes are used to pay the salaries of government employees.  It is the source of basic services like health care, education, infrastructure and government projects that are supposed to further the development of our country.

“It goes beyond obligation,” Mr. Emmanuel Rosell of San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation stated.

“It is a commitment to a nation where you owe it all.  We can never be a good business if we do not become faithful in our duty to our country,” Mr. Rosell ended.

“We have been a top tax payer for the past five years or so,” Mr. Andrew Ong, of Vic Entrprises started, “and we continue to pay our taxes because we see this as a support to the government’s projects,” he concluded.

For the Visayan Electric Company, Atty. Jill Verallo thinks that “we go beyond the mandate of paying taxes because it has always been part of our values to give back to the community what we get from it.  We acknowledge that our profit comes from our franchises, our communities so that is why we strive to pay our taxes on time, and within what is required by law.  But our desire is always to go beyond business and take it as our responsibility to give back what we can, and this is one way we can do that.”

Most of the taxpayers of  Mandaue City who were given the awards went beyond their corporate obligations. They saw the act of tax paying as a nationalistic move to help government materialize its programs and development projects.  As my guidebook has always stated “give Ceasar what is due to Ceasar and God what is due to God” Matthew 22:21.