By Anna liza Cabrido/PNA
KORONADAL CITY — The city government collected PHP116.8 million in business, real property taxes and other fees during the annual renewal of permits and registration of new businesses this month, surpassing its target for this year.
Gilbert Gayosa, chief of the business permits and licensing section of the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), said Wednesday their total collection increased by about 39 percent or about PHP45.5 million when compared to the PHP71.3 million generated last year.
Gayosa said the figure is the highest for the city since 2017, recorded at about PHP70.3 million.
A report from the CTO showed that the local government collected a total of PHP89.9 in business taxes, PHP19.2 million in real property taxes, and PHP7.7 million in miscellaneous fees.
The revenues were generated from January 3 to 21, with the operationalization of the annual business one-stop shop at the city hall lobby.
Citing their records, Gayosa said they issued a total of 3,789 business permits during the period, with 121 registered as new businesses.
“This shows that our business and investment scene remain vibrant and there are new opportunities that have been coming up,” he told reporters.
The official said they expect their collections to increase in the coming months as a number of entities have failed to meet the deadline last January 21.
He said the local government will continue to accept applications for renewal of business permits and related transactions but they will be subjected to corresponding penalties and surcharges.
New businesses that will be established or until the end of the year will not be covered by the penalties, he said.
The city government has been continually upgrading its business permits and licensing systems to better serve the business sector and other clients.
Last month, CTO announced that it was working on aligning its systems with the Land Bank of the Philippines to facilitate the payment of various fees online.
