Taxex and Sources

IT'S

quite inane to repeat what is taken as a tacit reality in a democratic nation like ours, that there is no other way the country would survive unless the inhabitants willingly agree to pay all the cost of governance. That is the basic reason behind the concept of taxation.

The current relationship between the Cebu City Council and the Rama administration of Mayor Michael Rama indicates a forceful Office of the Mayor but leaves so much to be desired in the matter of cooperative and decisive management.

While we can perceive that the mayor is aware of the priorities that he must attain as the chief executive of the city government, yet he appears biased regarding political issues.

At the moment, the Commission on Audit ( COA) report has become the most significant bone of contention between the executive and legislative branches of the city government.

Frankly, it continues to remain a mystery to me how the COA report dated June 14 took almost a month to reach the mayor’s office since it was stamped “July 10,” the date it was supposed to be received.

The report contained detailed exposes of how the financial management of the city was done. The accompanying letter went on to say that the audit was meant to “determine the reliability of LGU’s accounts and to express an opinion on the fairness of presentation.”

The letter which came from the COA 7 regional director and furnished to the regional heads of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) pointed out that Cebu City did not “undertake a general revision of real property assessments contrary to section 219 of RA 7160 or the Local Government Code 1991 and DILG-DOF Joint Memorandum No. 2010-001 (so) revenue raising was not maximized.”

One other point brought out in the COA critique was that the city did not update its revenue code in violation of Section 191 of RA 7160.

Consequently, the potential increase in revenue collection, computed at P591,606, was not attained, thus depriving city constituents with some projects that could have been funded by the collectible taxes.

These points brought out in the COA report showed a strong-willed mayor but one who failed to see the results’ value.

In any case, the point at issue here is recognizing the importance and uses of taxes.

One may realize the need to have funds to finance projects, but may not realize how to source taxes in order to support the projects.

It is one thing to have significant goals, and quite another to have them realized, to get the people accept the obligation to pay their taxes.

It’s one thing to accept one’s citizenship, and quite another to honor and be proud of it.