Unless city council extends tax deadline, delinquents to get slapped with 25% fine

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

CITY hall would impose a 25-percent surcharge on establishments that failed to beat Friday’s deadline for the renewal of business permits. A two-percent surcharge would also be collected for every month of nonpayment.

Ramon Mendoza, assistant city treasurer, said the surcharges would be immediately imposed unless the city council passed an ordinance that would extend the renewal of business permits.

Councilor  George  Goking, chairman of the city council’s committee on ways and  means, said the city council did not discuss any proposal to extend the deadline. He said there was no request.

“Kon dunay request for  extension sa renewal sa business permit, mo-agi man kana sa akong committee,  pero hangtud nga nag-deadline na lang, wala man ko makadawat bisag gamay nga papil nga nag-request alang sa extension sa renewal,” Goking said.

He said the request for an ordinance may be coursed through Mayor Oscar Moreno.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ ways and means committee passed a substitute bill that seeks to grant amnesty in the payment of estate taxes.

Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua, committee chairman, pushed for the passage of the bill  which seeks to increase tax collection levels by granting amnesty in the payment of unsettled estate taxes and to promote the settlement of estates. The amnesty would free-up properties of unsettled estates, with the end goal of generating financial transactions and stimulating economic activity.

The bill provides that the tax amnesty would cover estate taxes for taxable year 2016 and for prior years that have remained unpaid as of Dec. 31, 2016.

It grants the following immunities and privileges to taxpayers who avail of the tax amnesty: (1) immunity from the payment of estate taxes, civil, criminal, or administrative penalties; (2) the taxpayer’s Estate Tax Amnesty Returns for 2016 and prior years shall not be admissible as evidence in all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative proceedings; and (3) the books of accounts and other records of the taxpayer for the years covered by the estate tax amnesty availed of shall not be examined.

Congressmen said the tax amnesty is being sought because the collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on estate tax is insignificant, compared to the overall tax collection.

They said the amnesty is an administrative clean-up measure because there are so many properties tied-up to unsettled estate tax, which can reach billions of pesos and which have become idle capital. (with pna report)