ACCORDING to Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) now is not yet the right time to do amend the local tax code specifically to increase the business and real property taxes as efforts to invite more investors is still on-going.
This statement of the chamber is in relation to Councilor Danny Dayanghirang’s statement during last Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao about his committee looking into revising the local tax code and impose higher taxes in order to boost the city’s internal revenue allotment (IRA).
Dayanghirang added these tax reforms are also needed as the Commission on Audit (COA) had already called their attention regarding the low real property tax of Davao City despite its thriving property developments in comparison to the nearby cities Panabo and Tagum City.
DCCCII President Ronald Go acknowledged how the councilor has always been supportive of the various sectors of the community and added that right now the chamber is encouraged by the numerous business groups and delegations coming to Davao for exploratory visits.
“We realize that they have not made any commitments to locate or invest here at the present time. It may not be the right time to institute reforms considering we still want to convince investors to come to the city. Let us allow them to come in initially then later we can begin with reasonable increases in real property taxes. In this connection, we would like to request for a forum with our beloved councilor to tackle the details of this proposal,” said Go.
A two-day tax reform meeting is set on Wednesday, April 5 to Thursday, April 6 at Gran Men Seng Hotel to discuss the provisions of the tax reform after which they will go down to different areas of the city to hear the public’s sentiment regarding the proposed increase. (JPA)