• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod did not agree to the request of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) to extend until March 31 the filing of the mayor’s permit and the first quarter payment of the business tax, under the business one-stop-shop (BOSS) operation.
Councilors Al Victor Espino and Celia Matea Flor said during the SP session Feb. 19 that extending the BOSS would be unfair to other businesses that have already complied with the deadline.
Under the BOSS operation this year, those who were able to process their permits and made a one-time full payment of the assessed business tax, from Jan. 2-20, availed of a 10-percent discount.
The SP then extended the BOSS, and those making a one-time payment from Jan. 21 to Feb. 15, although no longer eligible to a discount, also did not incur any penalty or surcharge.
Espino told his colleagues that he discussed the MBCCI request with the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) and was told that majority of the businesses in Bacolod have already processed their permits.
“I am not inclined to endorse for an extension; it is unfair to those who already renewed their businesses” during the BOSS duration, he said.
Espino, chairperson of the SP Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Good Government, also said that per the CTO, total collection already surpassed last year’s record.
He said that, as of Feb. 17 this year, total tax collected from the BOSS operation reached P622.42 million.
Last year’s collection stood at P548.8 million for the whole 27 days of BOSS, the CTO earlier said. | CGC
