Tax Code defended from critics

by Felix N. Codilla III
COUNCILOR Ruben Capahi, chairman of the committee on ways and means admits that not all the provisions contained in the proposed 2011 Comprehensive Tax Code will be implemented this year. The City Council deferred passage of the Code to incorporate the suggestions they gathered from the public hearing, he said.

This development already disputes critics’ accusation that the administration is bent on passing the measure by hook or by crook and that the public hearing was only a moro-moro (for a show). On the contrary, it is the noisy critics who refuse to listen to the Council’s reasoning, Capahi adds.
 

One explanation is the fact that many of the rates charged by the local government unit (LGU) were last adjusted in 1992, ’97 and 2000, and need to be updated. An example is the P5 certification fee which is being raised to P20 when other LGUs are charging P50 for the same.
 

Citing also the same certification fee, Capahi said the proposed adjustment is 300% which critics are bloating when in fact the increase is negligible from P5 to P20. One participant at the public hearing insists that the LGU subsidize the rates as a form of social service.
 

Other increases like the 426.3% business tax to be imposed on fastfoods and restaurants from P190-P1,000 are one-time payments annually. Capahi points out that these increases are still miniscule compared to those charged by neighboring towns of Ormoc.
 

Capahi also defends the proposed water rate increase, saying the prevailing P3.50/m3 is not enough to maintain the chlorination and pumping process as well as the operations in general of Ormoc Waterworks and Sewerage Administration. Moreover, the proposed P7/m3 rate is still lower than the P15 and P17/m3 charged by Merida and Albuera towns, respectively.
 

Capahi is also dismayed that provisions of the Code that benefit taxpayers are not trumpeted like the 5% prompt payment discount and reduction of the amusement tax from 30% to 10%. Despite the deferment, there was no word of appreciation from those who demonized the Council as insensitive.
 

Even if the Code has been thoroughly scrutinized for more than a year, Capahi said they are willing to study it further because even members of their committee have their own suggestions. He did not specify however what provisions will be implemented this year and the next.
(WLWE Jan. 3-9, 2011)