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Thursday, June 19, 2003
City to raise property tax
AS Dagupan City is developing, the needs of the people become bigger.
This is the rationale offered by Councilor Teofilo Guadiz III to explain the proposed passage of an ordinance that would revise the real property tax (RPT) code of the city.
"Various services for the benefit of the public need improvements as Dagupan develops so we have to increase the revenue of the city," he said.
The chairman of the City Council's committee on laws and ordinances, however, assured that only the tax on land would be raised and not the buildings and other improvements on the real estate properties.
Pointing out that the present land valuation at city's central business district alone is only P1, 000, Guadiz said the city government would be increasing it to P5, 000.
"Valuation on these lands by the Bureau of Internal Revenue is P28, 000 while by the financial institutions, it is P30, 000," he said.
Guadiz said the RPT code in Dagupan has not been revised since 1987, so there is a need to increase the land valuation or else the city would be left behind in development by other cities in Pangasinan and Region I.
He disclosed that the code should be revised every after three years but the killer earthquake in 1990 that almost turned the whole city into rubble overtook the possible move to increase the RPT.
"The city government decided then to defer the move as a matter of assistance to the Dagupeņos who were greatly affected by the temblor. From then, the move to increase it was neglected," he said.
Pointing out the necessity and urgency of the measure, Guadiz said the city needs additional revenue to increase the number of traffic enforcers and the installation of more lights in the light.
He also cited that the allotted budget for medicines if divided to the total populace of the city, each resident is having only P2 worth of medicine for the whole year.
"We have to increase the allotment per person to possibly P100 each resident and we should increase the number of city doctors who would attend to the health needs of the people," he said.
If the RPT is raised, the expected revenue will increase from P28 million to P58 million.
Guadiz said the city legislature had already met in five sessions but the measure is still in the first reading.
He disclosed that his committee and the committee on ways and means headed by Councilor had already their respective reports and recommendations.
"The findings of the two committees would be reconciled before it will be scheduled for second reading," he said.
Considering that the tax of building cost adopted in 1985 would be left undisturbed, the City Assessor's Office (CAO) said it must be logical that the city's income must be maintained in its full potential so as not to affect the city revenue.
The CAO proposed that instead of providing a graduated ad valorem (basic) tax from 2004 to 2006, the city government should touch the assessment level of commercial land so as not to impair the city income.
Instead of having an assessment level of 50 percent and 1 percent for basic tax and 1 percent special education fund, City Assessor Jose Sanchez suggested that the city should adopt an assessment level of 35 percent with basic tax of 2 percent and 1 SEF.
In the CAO proposal, the assessment level of residential and agricultural lands would be pegged at 20 percent and 40 percent, respectively, from 2004 to 2006. Commercial lands, on the other hand, will be graduated from 35 percent in 2004 to 40 percent in 2005 and 50 percent in 2006.
Sanchez further suggested that the ad valorem tax on real property would be imposed at the rate of 2 percent.
Guadiz said 29 out of the 31-barangay captains have expressed support to the revision of the RPT code through a manifesto they signed.
The Dagupan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also amenable to the move of the city government to increase the RPT.
(June 19, 2003 issue)
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