BONTOC, Mountain Province—To entice taxpayers to pay their taxes, the provincial government is offering discounts for advance and prompt payments of real property taxes, Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr. said Monday.
Taxpayers were due to pay a one percent Basic Real Property Tax and an additional 1 percent for the Special Education Fund Tax for calendar year 2016. Taxpayers could get a 10-percent discount on these fees if they pay within the prescribed period and as much as 20 percent discount if they pay the real property tax before Jan. 1, 2017.
Provincial Treasurer Cawed A. Gamonnac said that the discounts are embodied in an existing revenue ordinance of the province that provides financial incentives to early taxpayers.
The taxes collected, in turn, will help the province lock up revenues and enable the financial planners to plan the budgeting of income and expenditures to efficiently deliver basic services to the constituents.
Taxpayers are given the option of where they want to pay their taxes at their convenience, but the provincial government urged them to pay early to get the maximum discounts, Gammonac said. Dexter A. See
Payments can be done at the office of the provincial treasurer or at the municipal treasury office where the property is located, he added.
Tax payments can be paid in full or in four equal installments, without interest, provided, that payments are made within the allowed period. The first installment is payable on or before March 31, 2017; the second is on or before June 30, 2017; the third is due on or before September 30, 2017; and the fourth is due on or before December 31, 2017.
If taxpayers fail to pay real property taxes for both BASIC and SEF on or before the dates indicated, they will have to pay interest at a rate of two percent of the amount of delinquent tax, for each month of delinquency until the tax has been fully paid, but not to exceed 36 months.
Lacwasan said the discounts were allowable under the Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act 7160 and Provincial Ordinance No. 101, series 2010, also known as the Updated Revenue Code of Mountain Province.