Caloocan to COA: Adjust property tax rates amid revenue shortfall

Faced with a R202.45 million revenue collection shortfall, the Caloocan City government was asked to update immediately the Schedule of Fair Market Values (SFMV) that would hike real estate property taxes.

City officials were also put to task by the Commission on Audit (COA) for failing to collect rental from stall owners of Langaray Market; non-collection of real property tax from delinquent taxpayers and non-imposition of penalties and charges to defaulting lessees of the commercial complex it operates.

In the recently-released annual audit report for the city, COA noted that Caloocan City was only able to collect P5.671 billion of its projected R5.978 billion revenues in 2017.

COA also lamented that the city’s unliquidated cash advance has reached R173.27 million and may balloon further unless the city government is able to take immediate action.

Real property tax collection bore a R364.9 million shortfall as the city government was only able to collect R541.69 million out of the projected R906.59 million.

“The deficieincy could be attributed to over project, deficient monitoring on fees/tax collection and non-colleciotn of the RPT from delinquent accounts,” COA auditors stated.

According to COA the “non-revision/renewal” of the city’s schedule of FMV as mandated by the Local Government Code also contributed to the inability of the city government to “collect a substantaial amount” based on the corrected market value of properties.

“Require the City Assessor’s Office to immediately complete the updating of the City’s SFMV and facilitate the preparation and issuance of the general revision of real property assessments and classificaiton as required under Section 212 and 219 of RA 7150 to generate additional income necessary to fund its priority programs and projects for the benefit of its constituents,” COA said.