TACLOBAN CITY—Signs of an improving business climate are becoming visible in the city as it recovers from the aftermath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) more than a year ago.
The city government accumulated tax revenue of P104.61 million last year from business establishments which had opened or resumed operations last year, according to its Business License and Permits Division. However, the figure is relatively lower compared to the entire collection in 2013 when Yolanda struck.
This year, the division had set a revenue goal of P120 million from business tax collection and is hopeful about achieving or even surpassing it, said Irene Chiu, executive assistant of Mayor Alfred Romualdez.
For the first quarter alone, P76.2 million was already collected, she said.
Before Yolanda hit Tacloban, considered the business center of Eastern Visayas, business collections reached P400 million.
A total of 148 new businesses, whose operations range from retail to hotel services, has opened since January. So far, 3,836 businesses have renewed their business permits.
“We are optimistic that more business establishments will be coming to Tacloban this year. In fact, Red Ribbon and Marikina Shoe Exchange will be opening soon,” Chiu said.
Chiu said a tax mapping among business establishments operating without permits would be conducted to improve tax collection. It was learned that for the past three months, the division was able to identify 61 establishments operating without business permits.
As part of efforts to attract more investors, as well as tourists, the city government is organizing activities related to the upcoming fiesta on June 30.
“Some of the activities will be sponsored by some corporations. We have not yet finalized as to how much we’ll allocate for the fiesta,” said Chiu, a member of the fiesta organizing committee.