Wednesday, December 05, 2007 Council eyes reduction of land assessment By Grace L. Plata
DAVAO City council approved on second reading Tuesday a resolution to enact an ordinance reducing the rates on real property assessment to encourage higher revenues.
The resolution is based on the Local Government Code of 1991, which mandates the city assessor to undertake a general revision of the real property assessment within two years after the affectivity of the code.
It is jointly proposed by the City Council committees on rules, privileges, laws, and ordinances chaired by Councilor Bonifacio Militar, and on finance, ways, and means and appropriations chaired by Councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz.
In 1992, a general revision was done effective 1994 as provided by City Ordinance number 592 but the supposed following revisions in the years 1996 and 1999 were deferred by the City Council due to the economic and social concerns brought about by the 1997 financial crisis.
According to Militar, who read the proposal Tuesday, the city has grown 14 years after the first general revision was made.
"Consistent with this development, it is just an opportune time to increase the marketability of real properties within the city through a general revision of real property assessment," Militar said.
The proposed amendments include the reduction of the assessment levels by 50 percent from the 1993 assessment levels. For residential, 20 percent to 10 percent will be reduced, while fifty percent to 25 percent for commercial and industrial, and forty percent to twenty percent for agricultural and plants.
The present assessment value of land has forced landowners to hold on to their land even without any means of developing it. The assessed value is so high, and landowners can barely make a profit by selling their properties.
Assessment levels for building and machineries remain at the same level with the 1993 rates since the recommended schedule of values are still very menial compared to the current and fair market values of real properties.
