Sunday, January 21, 2007 Better service, equipment pay off for one-stop tax shop By Gingging A. Campaña Of Sun.Star Cebu
THE one-stop shop set up in a mall for the express payment of business taxes and renewal of licenses since last Jan. 2 once again proved to be useful.
This time, on its ninth year of putting up the express center, the Cebu City Government found innovations to avoid overcrowding of taxpayers at the second level of the SM City mall, where the City rented a space big enough to accommodate businessmen and their bookkeepers who renew their business licenses yearly.
As of Jan. 18, the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), according to a report from the Management Information and Computer Services, collected P93.37 million, compared to the P81.52 million collected in the same period last year.
The amount represents a difference of close to P12 million or an increase of 14.53 percent.
At least 16,353 businessmen had their businesses assessed last Thursday.
Taxpayers rushed to the center last Friday thinking that the deadline for the payment of business taxes without penalties would be yesterday.
By bank
But Liezl Gonzaga, a member of the mayor’s management team tasked to supervise operations at the center, told them that they will open tomorrow to accept payments.
Besides, the City Council already approved the resolution extending the deadline for payments without penalties to Jan. 24.
Also, Gonzaga said that those whose businesses are already assessed need not line up at the payment section to pay their taxes.
They can already deposit their taxes to the City Government’s depository banks—Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Postal Savings Bank, Equitable Savings Bank and Philippine Veterans Bank.
This way, they can avoid the long wait and attend to other important things and other requirements, she said.
“They can always come back later to process the other requirements, show their deposit slips as proof that they have paid and we will issue them their renewed permits. What is important is that their taxes are assessed and paid on time,” Gonzaga told Sun.Star Cebu.
Gonzaga said that so far, the growing number of taxpayers who renew their payments at the express center is manageable.
Incentive
“We haven’t heard serious complaints so far on how we served them. I believe we have served them better this year,” she added.
Acting City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo, in an earlier interview, said the taxpayers can be served better now that the CTO has better equipment like the new digital queuing machines, more computers, more personnel and a bigger space compared to the previous years’ express center.
Three years ago, Mayor Tomas Osmeña treated 150 City Hall workers to dinner in one of the fine restaurants in the city. The employees handled the collection of business taxes that year.
It was announced during that dinner in February 2004 that incentives will be readied for the workers and department heads who helped in the collection, for their display of professionalism.
That year, the CTO, then headed by City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva collected P217 million, P12 million higher than the P205 million rounded up in 2003. (GAC)
