Top tax payer SMC firm paid P13.3-M tax in 2016

STA. CRUZ, Davao del Sur- The San Miguel Brewery, Inc. (SMBI), a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation and the leading beer manufacturing firm in the country, is the top business taxpayer of the municipality for year 2016 with a total business tax payment of P13.3 million.

The local government here said SMBI has helped a lot in implementing local projects.

SMBI started its operation in 1997 and its taxes contributed 38 percent of the over-all business collection of the local government, said Neil Capuno, head of the Business Permit and Licensing Division.

Capuno said that it was followed by Hedcor Sibulan, Incorporated, a power generation firm of Aboitiz Power, that paid P5.3 million; Franklin Baker Company, Incorporated located in Barangay Coronon (P5.2 million), Coco Davao, Incorporated (P2 million) and GSL Banana Chips Factory (P796,000).

He also said that the business taxes paid by these five companies comprise 76 percent of the total tax collection of their town.

Record of the business section shows that there are 608 registered businesses in the municipality as of July 2017.

Capuno said such establishments generated P34.07 million business taxes, P1.009 million business permit fees and P1.3 million other regulatory fees.

Meanwhile, Franklin Baker in Darong is registered under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) with separate incentives being provided by the said agency. Orlando B. Dinoy