Tax, liquor profiling of nightspots slated

Cebu City Hall personnel will profile the city’s entertainment joints to determine how much liquor they sell and the amount of taxes they paid to the city government.

Councilor Leah Japson, who sits in the accelerated social amelioration program (Asap), said a manual head count will give a more accurate picture of how much amelioration taxes the city should collect from these outlets.

The move came in the wake of the closure of Kuerks bar which operated without a valid business and liquor permit and owes the city P723,000 in unpaid amelioration taxes computed as of Dec. 31, 2012.

The tax is collected from entertainment outlets and computed at P10 per customer.

This is the source of the  city’s amelioration fund which will be used to finance feeding programs.

Japson said 55 percent of the amelioration tax is spent on a  feeding program for malnourished children enrolled at the city’s public elementary schools.

About 40 percent is set aside for community based feeding programs including those organized by non-government organizations (NGOs) in partnership with the city.

The remaining five percent shoulders the administrative cost of operating the Asap office headed by former councilor Jose Daluz III.

Ronald Diola, head of the city’s nutrition council, said the city government collected P20 million in amelioration taxes last year.

He said it won’t be surprising if they collect double the amount this year after they finish their profiling.

The feeding program has 20,000 public school beneficiaries and another 8,000 daycare children with a meal consisting of rice and vegetables. Chief Reporter Doris C. Bongcac