District 2 Councilor Winston Castelo is batting for a tax holiday and a tax relief amounting to P623 million for all registered enterprises in Quezon City regardless of the size and nature of business.
He filed his proposed Ordinance No. 469 to ease the burden of economic losses due to the pandemic and to enable business investors to “hopefully recover.:
He said business establishments have contributed P12,452,104,602.99 billion to the city’s coffers in 2020.
Councilors Karl Edgar Castelo of District 5 and Melencio Castelo Jr. of District 6 are co-authors of the proposed ordinance.
Based on the collection level, the proposed tax relief would amount to P623 million, Castelo said.
He, however, clarified that the suggested discount would cover only business taxes.
The continued lockdowns have badly affected all businesses from malls to variety stores, he said.
“Those that could not bear the difficulties have been forced to close shop. Others opted to downsize their staff or limit their employees’ workdays. Many malls offered to waive rentals to avoid the closure of their tenant-stores,” he said.
A tax holiday would be “an effective fiscal policy measure that will help the business sector minimize costs and expenses.
“It is also a means for the city government to give back to various businesses, big, medium or small, and their workers,” Castelo said.