TAX COLLECTION. The Cebu City government collected a total of PHP7.347 billion worth of taxes in 2020. Mayor Edgardo Labella on Tuesday (March 9, 2021) expressed optimism for this year’s tax take as the economy slowly recovers from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. (File photo by Jun Nagac)
CEBU CITY – The city government of Cebu collected a total of PHP7.347 billion in taxes in 2020 despite the pandemic.
This was disclosed by City Mayor Edgardo Labella in a press conference at the City Hall on Tuesday after weeks of working from home.
Labella said the 2020 tax take is lower than the PHP14-billion collected in 2019.
However, he noted that the PHP6 billion collected in 2019 was from the consigned lot sales at the South Road Properties, a reclaimed coastal area in the city’s south district.
Despite the lower tax collection last year, the mayor expressed his optimism for this year’s tax take as the economy slowly recovers from the effects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis.
“I believe our tax collection will still increase without necessarily increasing taxes. It’s just a matter of honest to goodness collection,” Labella said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
He recognized the City Treasurer’s Office for the good collection performance in 2020 despite the economic challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Labella noted that Cebu City was among the local government units in the country that had posted a high locally sourced revenue as of 2019.
The city government had extended the deadline for the payment of business and real property taxes to Feb. 20, 2021.
The city’s finance committee had hoped that it could collect more with the extension of the deadline.
Last year, the city government extended the deadline for the payment of business and real property taxes twice due to the long quarantine and the economic crisis.
The city understood that many businesses have suffered as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which was why it had granted several extensions. (PNA)
