Monday, January 6, 2014

Councilor pushes for more taxes for telcos, power coops

Sunstar Davao
By Reuel John F. Lumawag
Monday, January 6, 2014

DAVAO City can collect an additional P900 million in taxes annually if real property tax on communication or light posts is imposed, an official said.
"Under the law, companies or individuals -- like telecommunication companies and electric coops -- using light or communication posts (erected on government properties), should pay real property taxes," Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who also chairs the committee on finance, ways, and means, said on Monday's edition of the Davao Press Club's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex.
He said that in Digos City, the local government has been collecting the same taxes on light posts from electric cooperatives.
"Our City Treasurer said that we can collect P6 billion through improved tax collections from P5.1 billion," Dayanghirang said, adding that proper assessment, which means going to the field to assess the property, of those using the posts, will enable the city to collect the estimated P900 million.
Dayanghirang said former Davao City councilor Vicente Pichon has been lobbying for imposing real property taxes on communication companies and electric cooperatives that are utilizing communication or light posts.
Aside from improving the assessment of real properties, Dayanghirang also said that they should also look into other sectors where the city can impose additional taxes.
"You have industrial, commercial, residential, and the agricultural sectors. From there let's look what other sources of taxes which have not yet been collected. We should look into what are the sectors that should be charged more and what should be charged less," he said.
Dayanghirang said that increasing the collection of taxes will boost the city's income, which can be used to improve social services.
"These two factors -- knowing what needs to be collected and what sector to increase the tax -- are what the city treasurer's office and finance commitee have to study," he said.   source

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