CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The city government has reported a 36 percent increase in its business tax collection in December 2022, the highest in the last five years.
"It can be attributed to the increase in the gross sales of businesses in the city as businesses recover from the economic slump,” City Treasurer Jasmin Maagad said in a statement Thursday evening.
The Office of the City Treasurer (OCT) collected in January this year a total of PHP704 million from businesses, which is PHP185 million more than the PHP519 million collected in the same period last year.
Maagad noted that Mayor Rolando Uy’s fiscal incentives package, which included a 20 percent discount on advanced payers of the real estate tax and condonation of fines for delinquent taxpayers, “encouraged taxpayers to settle their obligations.”
Uy acknowledged the business sector for supporting the administration’s economic recovery efforts, anchored on restarting the economy crippled by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the city’s financial managers remain confident that 2023’s revenue collection will be at par or even surpass the pre-pandemic levels.
As one of the most highly competitive cities, Cagayan de Oro has registered an average of 10 percent year-on-year increase in revenue collection before the pandemic.
Data from the OCT showed that the business tax collection in Jan. 2019 was PHP600,047,438.
Business tax collection increased by 21 percent, at PHP724,461,480 in 2020, but sank by 31 percent in 2021 with a collection of only PHP499,827,765 as a result of the pandemic.
To maintain ease of doing business, the city government established the Business-One-Stop-Shop (BOSS) and online payment system to streamline the processing of business permits.
BOSS satellite offices have also been opened in Barangay Puerto and at SM Cagayan de Oro City to provide convenience to business owners.
Likewise, the City Council likewise approved the extension of the renewal of business permits from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28. (PNA)
