Tax amnesty in Cebu City pushed

CEBU, Philippines —  With livelihood affected gravely by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia has proposed granting amnesty on interests, penalties, and surcharges in real property taxes, business taxes, and all other fees and charges – due and demandable.

Garcia said a significant number of taxpayers are having a difficult time paying taxes due to the rates of interests, penalties, and surcharges imposed.

"In its earnest efforts to collect taxes due from said taxpayers, the Cebu City government, in its compassion to help its constituents, is willing to grant amnesty to all taxpayers relative to interests, penalties, and surcharges which resulted from their failure to pay all kinds of taxes, fees, and charges due to it," reads his proposed ordinance, the Tax Amnesty Ordinance of 2019.

The proposed amnesty shall apply to interests, penalties, and charges on all kinds of taxes, such as but not limited to real property taxes, business taxes, community taxes, and such other fees and charges imposed by the city government.

"To give all taxpayers covered under Section 4 of this Ordinance the opportunity to clear their records existing in the Cebu City government as tax delinquents, the Cebu City government hereby expressly grants amnesty on, and foregoes or waives the collection of unpaid interests, penalties, and surcharges of all outstanding and unpaid local taxes, such as but not limited to real property taxes, business taxes, community taxes, and such other fees and charges on the prior years (2019 and below), provided, that said taxpayers shall pay: (a) A compromise penalty of ten (10) percent of all unpaid local taxes, fees, and charges due and demandable; and (b) All prior years' (2019 and below) outstanding or unpaid basic real property taxes, basic business taxes, basic community taxes, and all other fees and charges such as but not limited to interests and penalties that are due and demandable, payable within a period of one (1) year from the date of execution of the compromise agreement between the Cebu City government and the concerned delinquent taxpayer/s," reads Section 5 of the proposed ordinance.

Meanwhile, Section 4 enumerates the taxpayers that will be covered by the amnesty, including those who have outstanding or unpaid local taxes, to include real property taxes, business taxes, community taxes, and such other fees and charges, due and demandable, provided.

As far as real property is concerned, the amnesty shall apply only to taxpayers whose real properties subject to taxes have not yet been auctioned off by the city government as of the effectivity of the ordinance.

If the ordinance is approved, taxpayers who are covered can avail of the amnesty only within a year since the date the ordinance took effect.

The City Council is set to deliberate on Garcia's proposed ordinance during its regular session next week.

Section 2 of the proposed ordinance emphasizes that it is the policy of the city government to devise and implement certain measures of collecting taxes from taxpayers, including those who are tax delinquents, effectively and efficiently, taking into account that taxes are the lifeblood of government. — JMO (FREEMAN)