Wednesday, January 23, 2008 City to lose P10M with tax amnesty: CTO
THE city stands to lose an estimate of P10-million if the City Council approves the proposed ordinance, granting discounts to delinquent taxpayers.
City Treasurer Thelma Manaois does not favor the proposal because this would affect the programs of the City Treasurer's Office (CTO) of collecting taxes due the City Government. She said the proposal is giving too much leeway for businessmen not to pay their taxes on time.
The proponent, Councilor Nicasio Aliping Jr. refuted her claim, saying the proposal is not counter productive.
Aliping is not asking for an amnesty, but merely a reduction of surcharges imposed on those who fail to pay their taxes on time, or who have not been paying taxes.
Contrary to the claim this might reduce the city's income, Aliping said reducing the fines would translate to better collection efficiency because the city encourages delinquent taxpayers to pay their dues.
"They will still pay for the basic tax but their fines will be lowered," Aliping explained adding there is a prescription period of when reduced fines will be allowed.
"It will not be forever," Aliping added. (Rimaliza Opiña)
