Land tax hike seen adding P300M for QC yearly

The Quezon City government sees at least P300 million in additional real property tax (RPT) collections each year once it implements an updated fair market value for land as directed by the Commission on Audit (COA).

This was the projection made by Sherry Gonzalvo, chief legal officer of the office of the city assessor, as she disclosed that P5.9 billion in real property taxes was collected in 2015.

Councilor Allan Benedict Reyes, chair of the city council’s ways and means committee, said the additional RPT collections could help fund more development projects for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Quezon City.

“This is one of the programs that will be addressed once we have revised the fair market values of our lands and properties. We will also have more expansion projects, such as a new hospital in Batasan,” Reyes said in a statement on Sunday.

Outdated

The COA recently ordered the Quezon City government to revise its outdated real property values that was last adjusted in 1995, or 21 years ago.

Mayor Herbert Bautista then asked the committee on ways and means to comply with the recommendation of the COA and the Department of Finance.

The committee has so far conducted 23 public hearings in different barangays to discuss the draft ordinance for the revised schedule, Reyes said.

He added that the city council recently approved to double the funding for the senior citizen and PWD sectors, allotting 1 percent of the annual budget exclusively for senior citizens and 1 percent for infrastructure projects for PWDs.

Seniors, PWDs

Senior citizens in Quezon City currently receive an additional 18-percent discount on medical and dental services within two weeks of their birthday.

They are also entitled to free parking in business establishments, and can use pay restrooms and watch movies for free.

Centenarians also receive P10,000 cash gift on their 100th birthday, a monthly allowance of P1,000, a cash gift of P1,000 on every succeeding birthday and P1,000 every Christmas.

An ordinance approved in 2015 also grants senior citizens a new tax break: when they sell their house and lot in Quezon City, they are no longer required to pay transfer tax.