BACOLOD City Assessor’s Office head Maphilindo Polvora said Wednesday the City Government is now accepting payments under the new real property tax (RPT) rates for 2018.
Polvora said that on December 4, they already uploaded in the system the new RPT rates.
“Some of the taxpayers were already paying under the new RPT rates and availed a 20 percent discount,” he said.
Polvora added that those who will pay land tax in the first quarter of 2018 will avail only a 10 percent discount while those who fail to pay will be fined two percent per month.
He noted that for the implementation of the new RPT rates, most affected are subdivision or housing developers.
“They will incur high taxes because the areas were developed from agricultural land into residential land,” Polvora said.
He added that now is the right time to impose a land tax increase because it is long overdue, and the last general revision of the city’s tax code was in 2005.
The City Planning and Development Office had earlier said the land tax rates increase will result to about P200 million in additional revenues for the city in 2018.
Polvora said the City Assessor’s Office and City Treasurer’s Office-Land Tax Division will be open on Saturdays from December 16 to 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., as well as on December 30.
Polvora urged the taxpayers to pay on time to avoid penalties.
