By Jade C. Zaldivar
The City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has reported a total collection of P863,673,740.59 from January to February this year.
CTO chief Rodrigo Riola last week said the sum is already 37 percent of the city’s target revenue collection this year‘,quite a feat considering we’re only two months into the year.’
In 2011 the CTO surpassed its annual target by 130 percent with a total of P4,525,267,675.00 revenue collection.
With 37 percent already acquired out of the 2.3 billion targetted collection for 2012, Riola is optimistic the city would accomplish its target or even surpass it.
The CTO head attributed the achievement to the intensified education and information campaign as well as to the increase in the number of business establishments in the city.
“The city may have relatively grown much in 2011, but without intensified efforts to inform the business establishments’ responsibility to pay their taxes, then wala rin,” Riola said.
Of the P863,673,740.59 collected, 56 percent came from business taxes amounting to P482,012,567.97.
Also a big contributor were fees and charges amounting to P279,000,000 while P113,810,000 was collected from the City Economic Enterprise.
The city’s revenue is expected to increase even more after Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio last month confirmed the city is gearing to increase taxes to make up for the decrease in the internal revenue
allotment (IRA) from the national government, hence the city government is crafting a proposed plan in aid of legislation for the purpose.
