Thursday, August 26, 2004 Negros Occidental tasked to raise P255M By Avelyn Z. Agudon
* Whatever amount collected specifically in the real tax delinquencies will be returned to the LGUs in the form of projects
AMID the fiscal crisis, Negros Occidental was tasked to collect P255 million in real property tax this year as mayors of the different cities and municipalities gird to adopt austerity measures.
The amount is 60 percent higher than the previous year's actual collection but the province will have to tighten its belt.
The Department of Finance in coordination with the Bureau of Local Government Finance is currently undertaking a massive real property tax enhancement program, which President Arroyo ordered to help ease the budget deficit.
Assessors and treasurers all over the province have come up with a "Revenue Generation Action Plan" (RGAP) to deliver a 100 percent real property tax collection efficiency that was favorably endorsed by mayors of the different cities and municipalities.
Governor Joseph Marañon said whatever amount collected specifically in the real tax delinquencies will be returned to the LGUs in the form of projects.
Records showed the share of the province from the collection of real property tax delinquencies last year reached P8.7 million.
Marañon said the RGAP will help enhance the collection of the back taxes.
The mayors expressed support on the RGAP as they also gird on adopting austerity measures amid proposals to suspend the release of the Internal Revenue Allotment.
Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante III, president of the Association of the Chief Executives in Negros Occidental, said all cities and municipalities are now drafting plans for "belt tightening measures" that will soon be implemented in his municipality.
La Castellana Mayor Enrico Elumba, on the other hand, said on top of the austerity measures he even proposed to cut the salary of the mayors by 50 percent instead of suspending the release of IRA as the delivery of the basic services will be hampered.
Revenue collection plan
Part of the plan to increase real property tax collection is to conduct the local government units' environmental scanning to create distinct records of delinquent taxpayers, conduct real property and business tax mopping and tie up assessment and collection records.
Tax assessment and collection drive will follow.
Each municipal or city treasurer and assessor will send a notice of assessment of tax bills, specifically generate statement of delinquency of at least 100 taxpayers per day; conduct property inspections for reassessment; conduct of auction sale; validate and process assessment of RPU's for auction sale; validate at least 100 notices of delinquency; and conduct field collection daily in house collection drive.
A tax information drive will also be conducted, wherein the assessors and treasurers will coordinate with the Department of Education and Department of Agrarian Reform to conduct an information campaign.
Task force on Carp
Part of the program is to create a joint task force on agrarian reform program to collect taxes from the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).
Records showed that taxable assessed value under Carp in 19 municipalities alone reached P13.5 billion.
(August 26, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
