CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor George Goking said he is set to identify companies operating in the city who are not paying their taxes.
Goking, chairperson of the committee on ways and means, said these big companies are doing business here but paying their taxes somewhere else.
“They are not paying their taxes here because they claim they are not doing business, they only have warehouse. Pero kung naa kay warehouse, dapat for storage ra na siya pero gigamit nila sa distribution so that qualifies them to pay taxes in Cagayan de Oro,” he said.
He said these businesses have enjoyed freedom from local tax over the years, but the councilor said “not anymore.”
The city could collect more money and fund more of its projects had these businesses paid their taxes.
“But we will give them due process so we have consulted legal advises we will find out. We will call them and tell them that they are not paying their taxes properly but they are using our facilities, it’s not fair to our local taxpayers,” he said.
Goking said these companies might be leaning on a provision of the Local Government Code which states that manufacturers, assemblers, replacers, brewers, distillers, rectifier, exporters, distributors, wholesalers, dealers, among others, who are maintaining and operating branch or sales outlet elsewhere shall accrue and pay their taxes to the municipality where such branch or sales outlet is located.
In cases where there is no branch or outlet in the area where the transaction was made, the sale shall be recorded in the principal office and shall be paid to such city or municipality, the law stated.
But Goking insisted that these businesses are operating here, distributing and selling their products in the city.
“If they are not paying taxes in Cagayan de Oro, they have no right doing business here. Kita bitaw ginagmay gabayad man tag buhis, why are they exempted from paying taxes?” he added.
The councilor said this is one of the strategies his committee is focusing on, to find more generation revenues without raising taxes.