QC folk face tax hike as council OKs higher land values

BAUTISTA

Quezon City residents will have to shell out more for real property taxes in 2017, after the city council approved on Tuesday an ordinance that revises fair market values in the city.

The measure was passed on third and final reading during the council’s last session for the year before it goes on recess for the holidays.

Under Ordinance No. 141, land values in Quezon City can go up by as high as 500 percent.

But Councilor Allan Benedict Reyes, the author of ordinance, assuaged the taxpayers’ fears as he sought to dispel earlier speculations that such rate of increase in land values will also be applied when computing the tax.

Data from the city assessor’s office showed that while property values may increase five-fold, taxpayers will only have to pay around 39 to 131 percent more than their current tax.

The assessment levels were actually lowered from 18 percent to 5 percent for residential lands, and from 45 percent to 14 percent for commercial properties.

This adjustment was made to soften the impact of the increase in property values, after City Hall conducted several consultations with residents and stakeholders.

For example, an owner of a 100-square-meter residential lot currently pays P900 at an 18-percent assessment level, with the land valued at P200,000.

Under the new measure, the value of the land will rise to P1.2 million and the owner will have to shell out P1,500 at the new 5-percent assessment level, reflecting a 60-percent increase.

Reyes stressed that with the measure, Quezon City remains the only city with a single-digit assessment level in the country

“I don’t think this [measure] was railroaded, because this is actually the first time we’ve held 29 public consultations,” he said, stressing that proper procedures were followed.

For mayor’s signature

Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte are set to sign the ordinance within the week, the councilor told the Inquirer.

In his State of the City Address delivered in October, Bautista described the revision of fair market values as an “obligation” prompted by an order from the Commission on Audit to have Quezon City’s property values adjusted after 21 years.

The last revision was made in 1995.

The local government had also received a memo from the Department of Finance and the Department of the Interior and Local Government on the matter.

The Local Government Code states that the general revision in real property assessment must be done every three years.

In a related development, the city council also passed on final reading two ordinances designed to alleviate the burden of real estate taxpayers. The first measure grants an additional 10-percent discount for senior citizens, while the second provides for an additional 5-percent discount for solo parents.

“If it will really be a pain for our taxpayers, the council will look into more discounts and incentives in the future, particularly for commercial properties,” Reyes said.

Those who had opposed the measure, including business groups and homeowners’ associations, called the ordinance unreasonable and unnecessary, citing the city government’s past collections.

In 2015, the city government generated revenues of around P15.7 billion, surpassing its target of P14.5 billion.

The local government is projecting additional revenues of around P700 million from the increase. In earlier statements, Bautista said money from the raised taxes would be allotted for the special education fund, socialized housing, and services for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.