THE Quezon City government announced on Friday the extension of the deadline for the first quarter tax payments in the city from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3.
Mayor Herbert Bautista approved City Ordinance 2550, granting taxpayers until next month to settle their unpaid obligations without penalties.
The extension was deemed necessary to accommodate the large number of taxpayers paying their business taxes “which continue to remain as major income source for the city,” the city government said.
“The extension also proves necessary in providing taxpayers the opportunity to avail of the benefits of prompt payment under the city’s existing tax relief ordinances,” it added.
Section 167 of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, provides that all local taxes, fees and charges shall be paid within the first 20 days of January or of each subsequent quarter “but the Sangguniang Panlungsod may, for a justifiable reason or cause, extend the payment period not exceeding six months.”
District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr., along with Councilors Franz Pumaren and Allan Benedict Reyes of District 3, authored the measure to extend the tax payment deadline.
On orders of Bautista, the city government extended the working days and hours of the different offices involved in tax assessment and payments in time for the first quarter deadline for the payment of business taxes and fees.
Based on the January 18 collection report submitted by the city treasurer’s office, Quezon City has already collected over P814 million in business taxes, more than P58 million over the amount collected during the same period last year.