DAVAO CITY—A series of public hearings will be conducted by the city government to discuss proposed amendments to the Revenue Code of Davao City.
Proposed increases in local taxes, fees and charges will be discussed in these hearings with various stakeholders. The basis for the adjustment will be presented, and the public will be given the chance to ask questions and clarifications, the Office of the Mayor said.
The first public hearing was held last May 12 at the office of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., which was attended by various members of the business sector.
The next public hearings will be on May 24 at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Conference Room for 1st District stakeholders; May 25 at the Buhangin Gym for 2nd District stakeholders; and May 26 in Calinan for 3rd District stakeholders.
For the past 12 years, the city government has been using the 2005 Revenue Code as the basis for collecting local taxes.
The proposal to amend or revise the city’s tax code came in the wake of the city government’s “increasing need for more funds for the delivery of public services,” and the development and construction of various infrastructure projects.
“There is a need for the city government to maximize revenues (collections). We need more funds to address the increasing demands of public service. We will get them from the taxes, fees and charges,” said Erwin Alparaque, head of the Technical Research and Action Team, which was tasked to study and draft the proposed 2017 Revenue Code of the City of Davao.
“For the last 12 years, the city government of Davao was not able to come out with the adjustment of the rates. There were no increases in tax rates including the rates for fees and charges. Under the local government code (Republic Act 7160), an LGU, through the Sangguniang Panlungsod, can adjust the rates of taxes once every five years, which shall not exceed 10 percent of the existing rates of the taxes,” he added.
If passed into law this year, the revised local revenue code will be implemented by January 2018, Alparaque said.