Next for QC traders: Tax payment via phone

MANILA, Philippines–Businessmen in Quezon City will soon be able to pay their quarterly taxes using their cell phones.

In a memorandum, Mayor Herbert Bautista ordered the offices of the city treasurer, information technology development and communication coordinating center to expand the mobile money system setup earlier this year to cover other transactions, including business tax payments.

“I look forward to the benefits of this innovation especially in promoting transparency and operational efficiency in local governance,” Bautista said.

Under the mobile money system launched in January, residents have the option of paying their real estate taxes through G-Cash. According to City Administrator Aldrin Cuña, the move would streamline city government operations and make the paying of taxes convenient for businessmen.

“Hopefully, we can implement the expansion plan soon considering that there is only a small population that needs to be covered because payments of business taxes are collected on a quarterly basis,” Cuña said.

He said the city government was also looking into adopting the scheme for the payment of other fees with fixed rates such as traffic citation tickets, market fees and sanitary permits.–Erika Sauler