Baguio considers proposal to hike real property taxes

BAGUIO CITY—Real property taxes here are proposed to be increased to raise more funds now that Baguio has embarked on the redevelopment of public service infrastructure like its sewer network and public market.

Under the proposed ordinance filed in the city council on Monday, owners of establishments on downtown Session Road, one of the city’s most expensive real estate zones, will end up paying a P21,000 tax for a 100-square-meter lot.

The rate represents a 259-percent hike from the current P5,858.

The proposed measure sets new real estate values to correct a discrepancy between what the government earns and the market values of lands here in the last 20 years, said City Assessor Maria Almaya Addawe.

The tax hike will give the city a 145-percent increase in revenues, or roughly P183 million.

The city government this year will operate on a P2.255-billion budget, which is insufficient for projects like a P6-billion market building and a P22-billion modernization of sewer lines.

Once approved, the new taxes will be collected in two tranches: 70 percent of the new rate in the first year and the full tax in the second year.

Several attempts to raise property taxes failed to pass the council due to complaints that the previous versions of new property values would raise taxes by as much as 1,000 percent.

The proposed measure would address this issue by lo­wering the assessment value of residential zones from 12 percent to 2 percent, Addawe said.

In some cases, the reduced assessment value would lo­wer taxes of houses that are far from the central business district. —VINCENT CABREZA INQ