City tax hike strikes fear

PETITION OUT TO STOP INCREASE

A PETITION is now out opposing the tax hike in the city which increases the real property valuation in the Summer Capital.

“There is a power move by the City Council to increase real property valuation which will entail a huge increase. This means property taxes will increase from 200 percent to as high as more than 2,000 percent depending on the property location. If this pushes through rent will also increase,” said the petition.

Petitioners added “sadly, they have no basis for the excessive increase. This will have a huge impact on the cost of living. All operational expenses will increase like rent, food

and petrol.”

The petition was posted on change.org which has now circulated and thousands backing the plan to thwart the tax increase, fearing rent in the entire city will skyrocket when the law is passed.

Mayor Maurico Domogan has been urging the council to update the two decade delayed tax increase in a bid to put land value here at a standard.

Today, the market value of a 100 square meter space at Session Road is pegged at P5,000 which pays an annual tax of P5,773 when the new market values are set, annual taxes for the same space will increase to P24,000.

At the Legarda road area which is also now a commercial spot, a 100 square meter lot pays an annual tax of P3,234 while the new tax will hike to P3,600.

For residential lots, a 100 square meter space now pays an annual tax of P25 which is seen to increase at P216.

Domogan said the last time the city increased taxes was in 1996.

“We are supposed to increase every three years,” Domogan said.

Committee on Appropriations and Finance chairman Elmer Datuin, with Councilors Edgar Avila and Peter Fianza in a public hearing this week said the increase was consulted to the public. “They accept the reality that taxes will increase. Of course, some are asking if we can reduce it some more. We will decide in the next council session the final land tax rate,” said Datuin.

“We have not adjusted our market values since 1996. The city is already under warning from the Department of Finance for the adjustment of market values as it is supposed to be adjusted every three years. The adjusted market values as proposal by the city assessor is reasonable and conforms to the present values of the properties in Baguio,” Datuin added.

Datuin said the city have reduced the assessment level as allowed by the local government code so the increase in taxes to the taxpayer will be minimal.

“If approved, the city will get a minimal increase in revenue. It will add to the general budget of the city to finance development projects pending for implementation in the city,” Datuin claimed.

Domogan meanwhile said taxes will merely increase by three percent and will finally put into place zonal and market values in the city.

Datuin presided over the hearing last week which seeks to approve and adopt the 2016 proposed schedule of unit base market values for commercial, industrial and residential, agricultural lands in the city as well as amending the assessment of levels to be applied.

Datuin added the values presented in the hearing is now lower than what was originally proposed.

“The decrease was due to the clamor of the taxpayers during the previous public hearing. We have summarized the amount they are paying today and what they will be paying under the revised proposal. We have provided many additional mechanism to reduce their tax payment as discussed in the proposal,” Datuin closed.

A special hearing is set on Monday at the city hall for the approval of the measure.