PB okays measure for delinquent taxpayers

By: Gerome Dalipe

WILL the Iloilo Provincial Treasurer’s Office be able to collect about P668.16 million in real property taxes from delinquent taxpayers with the passage of a tax relief measure?

The Iloilo Provincial Government is hoping to convince the landowners to pay only the base amount of their real property tax obligations until Dec. 31, 2019.

This, after the Iloilo Provincial Board, passed Resolution 2019-308, which embodies Provincial Ordinance 2019-198, an ordinance granting tax relief to delinquent real property taxpayers in Iloilo.

The Provincial Treasurer’s Office will launch the real property tax amnesty on various dates in September and October in the towns of Anilao, Sta. Barbara, Oton, Sara, and Pototan.

In the above venues, the Capitol treasurer will waive all the penalties and interests until Dec. 31, 2019, amounting to almost P200 million.

The Provincial Board’s committee on ways and means issued its report declaring as legal and valid the resolution granting tax relief to delinquent real property taxpayers.

The P668.16 million in real property taxes includes the total taxes on real property and penalties that remain uncollected from delinquent taxpayers in the Province for 2018.

Of the amount, the total tax penalty for delinquent taxpayers as of June 2019 reached P178 million.

In a bid to effectively collect the taxes, the provincial treasurer had asked the Provincial Board to pass a resolution granting tax amnesty to all delinquent taxpayers in the Province.

During the committee hearing, the provincial treasurer informed the board members about the inquiries made by several taxpayers following the declaration of a state of calamity caused by the drought season.

The treasurer said the tax amnesties have been granted in previous years to reduce the tax liabilities of the taxpayers affected by the calamity.

Likewise, the treasurer’s office said the tax amnesty aims at the cleansing of office records of past due accounts, reduce foreclosures, and prevent tedious processes of foreclosure sales.

Thus, the Provincial Board members agreed in principle to the extent the tax settlement until six months.

With the passage of the tax relief, the treasurer’s office hopes to collect revenues and minimize delinquencies in real property taxes.

The towns with delinquent taxpayers include Dingle, Iloilo with P69.16 million in unpaid real property taxes, followed by Miag-ao, which posted P47.95 million in uncollected taxes.

The other top towns with unremitted taxes were Oton with P39.29 million; Dumangas, (P33.50 million); Pototan P29.89 million; Janiuay, (P28.59 million); Pavia, P27.48 million; Lambunao, (P21.17 million); Leon, (21.09 million;), and Barotac Viejo, (P20.80 million).

The Provincial Government can sale at public auction the assets owned by landowners who failed to pay their real property taxes.