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Sunday, April 30, 2006
Daluz seeks lower rates
Instead of the original eight percent, Councilor Jose Daluz III is proposing that realty taxes on houses in Cebu City worth between P175,001 and P300,000 be reduced to only two percent.
Daluz resubmitted his draft ordinance to the committee on laws and good government for review after the City Council’s deliberation last February when some councilors raised concerns as to the “reasonableness of the eight percent assessment level.”
Questions were also raised why Daluz had to stipulate an amount, P150, in his proposed measure.
He had proposed that realty taxes on houses be prescribed at eight percent or P150, whichever is lower.
Last April 18, the proponent revised and resubmitted his proposed measure to Councilor Edgardo Labella for review.
Daluz dropped the P150, as the Local Government Code does not allow the fixing of an amount, only the percentage of the assessment level, said Labella in his committee report.
“Finding the contents of this proposed amendment to have substantially complied with the standards set by the Local Government Code on taxation and revenue raising, the committee does not interpose any objection to its passage,” Labella said last Wednesday.
He said that while the proponent is aware that the “provisions of the Local Government Code on taxation are on the whole pro-poor, present-day conditions also call for the review of tax exemptions due to the fact that running the government is also getting to be more expensive.”
“If exemptions are based on situations that are no longer realistic under prevailing standards, there is a need for review and if necessary, for amendments,” Labella said.
At the public hearing on Daluz’s proposed ordinance last Feb. 15, Filomeno Lim, president of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said even the P150-tax does not matter any more to the poor.
This because they can even no longer afford the low-cost housing at P500,000.
He said there is no house that can be taxed with P150, with the high cost of construction materials nowadays.
The council is set to deliberate on Daluz’s proposed amendment in the regular session next Wednesday. (GAC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 30, 2006 issue)
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