QC eyes P1.1 B more in taxes

The Quezon City government is looking to generate an additional P1.1 billion from real property taxes by 2018 if the ordinance adjusting fair market values of properties in the city is passed before the end of the year.

The revised ordinance adjusting the city’s outdated fair market values passed second reading before the city council yesterday.

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte described the revised ordinance as the “best version” that the council could provide to its residents, following at least 29 public consultations.

The city government is expected to generate a total of P4.1 billion in real property taxes once the revised schedule is fully implemented by 2018, coming from the current P3 billion.

The additional revenue generation will come from P700 million in taxes on lands set to be implemented next year while an additional P400 million will be generated from taxes on improvements, which will only take effect by 2018.

Data from the city assessor’s office showed that the increase in actual taxes to be paid by residents range from 39 percent to as high as 131 percent.

Belmonte debunked allegations that real property taxes will go up five-fold, adding that the objective of the ordinance was not to increase the tax burden on the people to generate more revenue but instead to comply with the Local Government Code.

She admitted that previous councils have been “remiss” in its duties, given that the Local Government Code mandates an adjustment of market values every three years.

Fair market values of properties in Quezon City have not been revised since 1995 or 21 years ago.

The city council has retained 100 percent of the basic unit cost proposed by the city assessor while deciding to offset the high increases in fair market values by lowering the assessment level to five percent for residential properties and 14 percent for commercial and industrial properties.

If passed, Quezon City will be the only city that has a single-digit assessment level in the country, according to Belmonte.

The executive branch of the local government initially preferred a 10 percent assessment level for residential and 25 percent for commercial, coming from the current 18 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

Following the public consultations, some revisions were made which include the justifiable reclassification of one step for properties as well as the decision to only include lands with a previous assessed value of P100,000 to be subjected to continuous collection of the Socialized Housing Tax of Quezon City.

The city council also bared several measures that will soften the blow of the expected increase in real property taxes.

This includes the filing of two separate ordinances that would grant real property tax discounts for senior citizens and solo parents who are legitimated property owners.

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