THE City Goverment of Cadiz is banking on attracting more businesses to bring in additional investments to the northern Negros Occidental locality amid the huge cut in its National Tax Allotment (NTA) next year, its top official said.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., on the sidelines of his ceremonial oath-taking and 55th Charter Day celebration at the Cadiz Arena in the city Monday, July 4, 2022, reiterated that the city is suffering about P220 million in NTA, formerly Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), cut in 2023.
Escalante said the amount accounts for about 15 percent of the city’s allotment next year, adding that they also reduced about P111 million in their 20 percent development fund and special projects.
“I really don’t know how we can fit this [allotment] but nevertheless we have to survive that is why we are now focusing on our local collections,” the mayor added.
For Escalante, the business sector currently has high confidence towards the local government.
Citing reports from the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco), he said the power distrubution utility has issued about 850 permits either for new businesses or residences.
Of all the areas catered by Noneco, Escalante said, only Cadiz City has a growth rate in terms of the number of households and business establishments that have applied for power connections.
“That shows that business is alive here [in Cadiz] thus, we will concentrate on this,” the mayor said, adding that “we will partner with them.”
The local government, he said, will look at how the government can help them.
“Probably, we will give more incentives but they have to pay their taxes for us to compensate for the P220 million budget that we lost,” Escalante stressed.
Aside from solar farms, many other businesses are coming in, he said, adding that “this could be a huge source of revenue which the city government can tap later on.”
Meanwhile, Escalante took his oath before Negros Occidental Second District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, along with other elected city officials.
In his inaugural address, the mayor said his administration recognized that the past few years had been hard for the business sector, mainly because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
“My administration will continue to open new opportunities for investments and will create more incentive packages for those who will work with us, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the transportation sector,” he said.
Escalante added that with the rising cost of doing business, things are getting worse.
“I invite you to work with us to deliver competitive products in the market,” he told the business community, urging them to “allow me the opportunity to institutionalize common-use facilities to lessen your cost.”