Hike in Aklan real property tax slammed

ILOILO CITY—An ordinance raising real property taxes in Aklan province by as much as double the current rates is facing opposition from residents and several municipal officials.

Opposers are calling for an amendment to Tax Ordinance No. 001 to lower the increase and postpone its implementation on Jan. 1, 2015, due to its perceived impact not only on property owners but on the public as well.

Kalibo Councilor Augusto Tolentino said the tax increase was too high and would severely affect residents and business operators.

He said signature campaigns against the ordinance were being conducted in towns, especially in those with the highest rates of increase.

But Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores said the ordinance would be implemented starting next year.

“It has gone through the necessary process and it was approved already by the provincial board,” the governor told the Inquirer.

He said the rates of the tax increase were fair because the province had not revised real property market values since 2005.

He said the province was also mandated by the Local Government Code to increase real property tax rates every three years.

The tax ordinance passed by the provincial board on June 18 set new base market values of real property for the province’s 17 municipalities.

The revised schedule of market values also includes special base market valuations for Boracay Island in Malay town, Barangay (village) Union in Nabas town and villages of Poblacion, Estancia, Andagao and New Buswang in Kalibo or Metro Kalibo.

Tolentino said the increase would most impact those with special market values.

If the increase is implemented, taxes for residential areas in Metro Kalibo would increase from 97 to 139 percent, and from 58 to 91 percent for the rest of Kalibo.

On Boracay Island, taxes for residential properties would also increase, ranging from 97 to 139 percent, according to Tolentino.

An owner of a residential lot covering 100 square meters in Kalibo would pay a real property tax of P420 next year from the current P176, he said.

George Calaor, chair of the provincial chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and convenor of Aklanons Against Excessive and Exorbitant Taxation, said those belonging to the middle class and lowest income sectors would bear the brunt of the increase.

“The exorbitant increase is unconscionable at a time when Aklanons are still recovering from the onslaught of Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’,” Calaor said.

He said there was also lack of a “genuine and comprehensive” consultation on the tax ordinance.

Miraflores said half of the revenues from real property taxes automatically go to the special education fund of the Department of Education while the other half is divided by province, municipality and barangay.

The governor said public hearings were conducted by the provincial board, including on Boracay Island.