Makati tops 2006 property tax collection in Metro Manila

Makati City topped the real property tax collection among local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) for 2006, and with its recently installed electronic payment centers, the city hopes to make tax collection this year even more efficient. The tax collected amounts to P3.7 billion, beyond the the city's target of P2.24 billion, according to Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said. The announcement was made by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) during the planning and target setting for local treasurers and assessors. Binay said the collection exceeds that of other big cities, such as Quezon City with P3.06 billion and Manila, the Philippine capital, with P3 billion. Makati's high tax collection, according to Binay, can be largely attributed to its dutiful taxpayers. “We are very thankful to our citizens for actively participating in city-building," Binay said. "The taxes they pay help make sure that Makati continues to be financially stable and, consequently, becomes more capable of providing better public services." Binay said that since 1987, or one year after his appointment as officer-in-charge of Makati, the city government’s annual revenue collection has continuously increased. “As our way of thanking our taxpayers, we are pursuing innovative ways to make the payment process more comfortable for them," Binay said. "One of these is the establishment of electronic tax payment centers, which are now open in some of our barangays at scheduled dates, so that our residents and property owners need not go to city hall to pay their dues. This has also made way for shorter processing time." Binay said the city has set some electronic tax payment centers in 12 barangays. The system, he said, consists of computers linked to the Treasury Department at the Makati City Hall. "The taxpayers need only to provide any relevant information about their property and the tax due is immediately computed," Binay said. "They will then be provided with an electronic receipt. The whole process only takes two to four minutes." Binay said the schedule for the electronic mobile real property tax payment for the third quarter are as follows: • Bel-Air - July 3 • Magallanes - July 4 • Dasmariñas - July 5 • Forbes Park - July 6 • Urdaneta - July 10 • San Lorenzo - July 11 • Comembo and Guadalupe Nuevo - July 12 • Pio del Pilar and Bangkal - July 13 • Tejeros and San Antonio - July 17. Payments will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Other residents, whose barangays are not yet included in the program, may pay their dues at the nearest available barangay tax payment center or at the second floor of the new building of the Makati City Hall," Binay said. - GMANews.TV