Where my taxes go

SOMETHING caught my eye as I walked into the lounge where Quezon City homeowners get assessed for their yearly property taxes late last year.

On a computer touch screen where the security guard was handing out numbers, I saw a matrix made up of 16 colorful boxes under the title “Assessment Queuing System.” Each of the four columns was labeled — Current, Delinquent, Senior/Current and Senior/ Delinquent. How efficient, I thought.

But then I noticed that under each column, there were four choices: Male, Female, Gay or Lesbian, which came with the corresponding symbols: a circle below an arrow pointing diagonally upward for male, a circle above a cross for female, two overlapping male symbols for gay and two female overlapping symbols for lesbian. Immediately, my mind went to work. First, I thought, the guard must have punched a box under the “Current/Senior” column since I have been up to date with my land tax payments. But did he punch the male button or did he think I was gay?

Then, I thought, the guard must be really skilled at making quick gender assessments.

But wait, what about bisexual, asexual or queer taxpayers? Surely the LGBTQA+ would be unhappy about being left out.

Then finally, I thought, what difference does it make?

I know seniors are supposed to get faster service, but do senior gays or senior lesbians get even better service? If so, maybe I should have told the guard I was a senior and gay.

Think about this. In the brain trust of Quezon City Hall, someone actually approved this automated ticketing system that includes all these extraneous details when, really, the only pertinent information when it comes to paying property taxes is whether you are current or delinquent, and whether or not you are a senior citizen.

This is where my taxes go, I thought. Now normally, the actual process of being assessed and lining up to pay isn’t all that difficult. And in the past, Quezon City taxpayers had up to March 31 to pay in full to get a 20 percent discount. In 2023, however, we learned that the deadline to get the discount had been moved up to Dec. 31. That might have been why both the assessment and payment lounges were so full of people the day I went to pay.

What made matters worse, the airconditioning system was shot, and the fans they brought out really did very little to make the wait more comfortable. After a while, some City Hall people worried perhaps that some luckless taxpayer might collapse from the heat and dehydration — started handing out free bottles of mineral water. As in years past, there was free coffee, of course, but oddly enough, there were few takers that day.

I walked the entire length of the payment lounge and found the one-floor standing air conditioner that was still working, and parked myself in front of it and waited for my number to be called. The teller assigned in that area seemed to be pleased by his good fortune.

The new deadline for property tax discounts, announced in June 2023, came with some assurances from the city’s mayor.

“We are collecting more taxes to be able to give more to our QCitizens who are paying their obligation to the local government diligently and in a timely manner,” the mayor said.

She also asked us not to worry, because our taxes would be used to “further strengthen and expand our delivery of social services, build more infrastructure, and implement necessary plans and programs.”

It has been some time since my visit, and I hope the air conditioners have been fixed. If not, we humbly recommend that she begins by fixing them, so that we can diligently pay our taxes, not only in a timely, but also in a reasonably comfortable manner. Regardless of our gender identity.