LT tax hike appealed to DOJ

SOME 29 businessmen from La Trinidad, Benguet have sought the help of the Department of Justice to nullify the valley’s newly revised revenue code.

The group has filed a petition forwarded to DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre against the Mayor Romeo Salda, Vice-Mayor Joey Marrero and the local council after not hearing their plea on the revenue code which was approved last year.

Some 500 signatories coming from the business sector of the municipality have signed in the petition including owners of restaurants, sari-sari store, boarding house,

realtors, and vegetable traders.

The petition said the increase of tax rates, fees, and or charges under the revised revenue code of the municipality of La Trinidad is baseless, unreasonable, unjust, excessive, oppreseive, conficatory and contrary to declared national policy hence, null and void.

"We find the increase of tax rates very excessive. Other than that, the move to revise the revenue code of La Trinidad did not pass through due process," said Lawyer Simpson Baldo.

Baldo alleged the revised revenue code did not underwent public hearing.

The lawyer added aside from the publication, there must be a notice of scheduled public consultation including distribution of copies of the proposal to the stakeholders for them to see the changes incurred.

"This is a major revision of the revenue code of which supposedly everybody should be in the public hearing, the law states there should be a series of public hearing," added Baldo.

Petitioners sometime in the second week of December 2017 were issued notices of assessment from the office of Municipal Treasurer imposing the fees and charges.

The League of Associations of La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Area with with the Bagsakan Municipal Clusters Vegetable Dealers Association wrote the Office of Mayor and the local council requesting for a dialogue on the same month and suspend the implementation of the revised revenue code.

However, the LGU implied the Commission on Audit in its annual audit records consistently recommend for the enactment of the code of the municipality and implementation will proceed adding there would a continuous information education campaign.

"We reiterate the prior year's audit recommendation that the Sangguniang Bayan members fast track and prioritize the passing and approval of the revised revenue code to increase the municipality's revenue for the benefit of its constituents," said the petition.

From 2005 to 2015, the municipality did not increase taxes while for 2018, the maximum increase will not exceed 10 percent of the rates under the new revenue code.

Petitioners said tax payers were left with no recourse but to pay the increased tax rates to renew their business permits as non-renewal thereof will be fatal to their livelihood continuing with their protests.

From a sample quarterly business tax return of a vegetable dealer, its previous total fees of P8,514 for 2017, with a breakdown of mayors permit P600, Business establishment fee P200, sanitary fee P100, Garbage fee P2,500 , Zoning fee P30, and Occupation tax of P200.

Under the revised revenue code, a wholesale vegetable dealer for 2018 would pay mayors permit P2,000, Business establishment fee of P500, Sanitary fee P200, garbage fee P2,750, Business plate-P15, Occupational tax P200, Secretary's fee P50 with P5,715 total regulatory fees and P7,986 license fees a total of P13,701.

"We can already feel the effect. The business sector have increase its rental fees for the same reason of the effect of huge increase with the business taxes of the revised revenue code imposed," said Augusta Balanoy, representing the farmer sector opposing to the increase of taxes.

The DOJ received the petition dated January 31 and given with 60 days to resolve the appeal and declare the appeal null and void or valid.