BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Councilor Dindo Ramos said that the condonation of penalties and surcharges for property owners in Bacolod City, who have unpaid real estate taxes has been moved until March next year.
Ramos, chairman of the Sangguniang Panglungsod committee on laws, said this is to give property owners ample time to settle their accounts.
Under City Ordinance 936, the collection of penalties, interest and surcharges on unpaid real property taxes are waived so long that delinquent taxpayer who shall pay in full from September 30, 2020 or earlier to December 31, 2020 is entitled to a hundred percent condonation.
The ordinance stressed that those who shall pay in full from January 1 to march 31, 2021 will avail 50 percent discounts on penalties while unpaid taxes accumulate to considerable amount which shall make it onerous for taxpayers to pay in one lump sum.
It added that the city treasurer is authorized to allow the liquidation of the total unpaid taxes in installments.
Ramos said that this ordinance has been beneficial not only to the city government but likewise to the delinquent taxpayers.
Records show that about P40-million in tax delinquencies has been collected since the ordinance was implemented.*
