Saturday, February 23, 2008 Only sports events, concerts will be covered by tax cut
AMUSEMENT taxes collected from concerts and sports events organizers will be reduced to encourage more producers to come to Cebu City. However, movie and theater houses will not be covered by the new policy.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he is discussing with some city councilors proposed amendments to existing ordinances on the collection of amusement tax, which he hopes will be approved soon.
Instead of collecting an amusement tax of 30 percent of the total gross sales from event organizers, Osmeña wants this reduced to a flat rate. They have yet to decide on the exact amount to be collected though.
Osmeña, however, does not agree with the proposal to completely scrap the amelioration tax collected from entertainment spots. Its collection should be devolved to the barangays where the establishment is located, he said.
“We cannot get concerts to be held in Cebu City because of our amusement tax, and that would mean our constituents will not get to see Beyonce and other foreign artists. So we will make the tax a flat rate, and then eventually we can also soften a bit with the movie houses,” Osmeña said.
An ordinance proposing to scrap both the amusement tax imposed on concerts and amelioration tax imposed on entertainment spots is pending before the City Council.
“We don’t want to suspend collection of amusement tax as far as movies are concerned because it’s too big an item. But for concerts, we are going to forgo that, including basketball games and other sports events,” the mayor said.
He anticipates that more concerts and sports events will be held in Cebu City once the council approves the ordinance.
Councilor Hilario Davide III proposed scrapping the 30 percent amusement tax on shows and concerts and “social amelioration tax” on entertainment spots and related establishments.
He said earlier that scrapping the tax does not affect the City’s coffers since it only comprises six to seven percent of the City’s total tax collection, and is therefore “not a significant source of revenue.”
In 2006, the City Government collected P46.2 million in amusement taxes. This represented about 5.2 percent of the City’s total tax income of P879.8 million.
On the social amelioration tax, which is P1 for every customer or patron, he said it is not clearly recorded and is collected only on Fridays and Saturdays. LCR
