The provincial government of Negros Occidental has collectibles amounting to P2.8 billion from owners of real properties, who failed to settle their tax obligations for 2020 and prior years.
To improve collection, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said yesterday that they are proposing a tax relief for delinquent taxpayers, which is being deliberated by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Diaz said that they are proposing a compromise agreement with taxpayers by requiring them to pay 20 percent of their total tax obligations, with the remaining 80 percent to be paid, within two years, depending on their restructure plans.
This also covers properties already placed under auction, for owners who wanted to redeem it, he added.
Should they enter into such compromise agreement, they will also be required to pay their current taxes, aside from the amount of their restructured tax obligations, Diaz said.
During the two-year period, no interest will be added as part of the compromise agreement.
If it cannot be obligated with the 24 months period, then the agreement will be invalid, he said.
“We will resort to remedies under the Local Government Code,” Diaz said, as he called on real property owners to avail of the tax relief, after its approval by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
He acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the lower collection of real property taxes in the province.
“I hope the tax payers will welcome this development, and will be happy about this. This is both a campaign to collect taxes and also a way of giving tax relief to them,” Diaz added. – GB
