BAGUIO CITY – The City Treasury Office warned delinquent real property owners the city government will be constrained to subject their properties to public auction once their unpaid real property taxes will not be settled the soonest.
City Treasurer Alex Cabarrubias said the City Assessor’s Office already submitted to his office the cleansed list of the properties of delinquent real property taxpayers which will be scheduled for auction anytime, thus, concerned taxpayers must visit the city treasury office soonest to settle their unpaid taxes so that their hard earned properties will not be subjected to the auction proceedings.
“We are ready to publish the list of the properties of delinquent taxpayers that will be subjected to auction anytime thus we are making the last appeal for the said individuals to immediately settle their tax liabilities with the city government so that their properties will be removed from the list of properties to be auctioned,” Cabarrubias stressed.
The city treasurer also announced that the city government is now accepting advance payments for real property taxes due next year to help people avoid having to line up in their office to settle their real property taxes.
He added those paying in advance and in full their real property taxes for next year will be automatically granted the 20 percent discount being provided by the city for those willing to pay their taxes the earliest possible time.
According to him, the city government wants to entice city real property owners to pay their taxes in advance that is why the city treasury office already opened the opportunity for real property owners to be able to pay in advance their real property taxes due next year to avoid being caught in the long lines once they decide to start settling their obligations by the start of next year.
Under the local government’s existing policy, real property owners who pay their taxes in full in January will be automatically granted a 20 percent discount while those who pay in full their real property taxes in February will be granted a 15 percent discount.
On the other hand, those who pay their real property taxes in March will still be granted a 10 percent discount while those who opt to pay their taxes after March will no longer be allowed to avail of any discount.
Cabarrubias asserted that taxes are the lifeblood of the government and taxpayers are mandated to pay their obligations with the city considering that the taxes collected are plowed back for the welfare of the populace through the implementation of priority development projects and the enhanced delivery of basic services to the people, especially in the different barangays of the city.
Aside from real property taxes, the local government also derives part of its income from business taxes, fees and charges, internal revenue allotment (IRA), share from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), share from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), among others which serve as the income component of the annual budget of the local government used to fund for the expense component of the annual budget to achieve the goals and objectives of the city in delivering the needs of the people in the barangays./Dexter A. See
