BIR shames cities for low property tax collection

MANILA, Philippines – Four in every 5 Philippine cities use outdated information for the collection of real property tax (RPT), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said in its latest Tax Watch ad released Wednesday, June 11.

The Tax Watch ads are part of the bureau’s name-and-shame campaign aimed at curbing tax evasion and increasing tax payments.

Like the many provinces that use outdated bases for collection of RPT, a violation of the Local Government Code of 1991, “most cities… also do not comply with the law,” the BIR ad said.

Under Section 198(a), 212, and 219 of the Local Government Code, RPT should be based on current, fair, and updated Schedule of Market Values (SMVs). Updating SMVs and conducting general revision of property assessments and classification should be done by cities and provinces once every 3 years.

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The agency said that 116 out of 143 cities in the country were using outdated SMVs.

“The cities of Lamitan, Malabon, Navotas, and Tanauan are outdated by 19 years,” the DOF said.

Only 27 cities with updated SMVs were able to recently conduct a general revision of property assessments and classification. These include Balanga, Batangas, Binan, Bislig, Calamba, Candon, Cauayan, Digos, Escalante, Himamaylan, Iligan, Koronodal, La Carlota, Lapu-Lapu, Manila, Marawi, Masbate, Muntinlupa, Ozamis, San Pablo, Science City of Muñoz, Sorsogon, Surigao, Tagum, Talisay (Cebu), Tangub, and Victorias.

The province of Maguindanao last revised its property assessments and classification 25 years ago.

“An updated SMV leads to more revenue from real property tax. More revenues mean more LGU social services,” the ad read. – Rappler.com

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