EDITORIAL – City’s tax collection up

DAVAO City Mayor Sara D. Carpio and members of her team must be smiling from ear to ear these days. And for good reason. The huge increase in tax collection recorded by the city government at the start of the year. Logically, the feat should hearten all Dabawenyos, considering that increased tax collection means more money for badly-needed public service projects.
As of Tuesday, January 29, or three days before the deadline for applying for business permits, collection had already reached P531.8 million, up by P89,405,393 or 20.20 percent higher than the P442,476,362 collected during the same period in 2012.
Statistics actually show that there has been an increasing trend in collection from 2011 to 2013. In 2011, the collection was placed at P401,644,943.
The same report also bared an increase in the number of business permits applied and paid for this year compared to last year’s figures over the same period from 21,733 in 2012 to 24,502 in 2013.
City Treasurer Anastacio Jardin told EDGE Davao that the upswing trend is attributed to administrative policies anchored on peace and order to ensure a favorable business climate. Jardin said the increase was “built up from the previous policies of the city and not done overnight.”
“Previous policies such as policies focusing on peace and order and creating more infrastructures, making Davao City more conducive for investments,” Jardin said.
Many other factors can be credited for this happy development. Among them are the ideal business climate that Dabawenyos and their leaders have created for the city in the past decade or so. Foremost of these is the maintenance of law and order, the passage of some ordinances that have made the city more attractive to investors. Many believe though that the most impressive achievement by our city is the much improved transparency in government transactions. They would like to give credit to Mayor Sara for her being a stickler for the rules of discipline and propriety that she wants everybody to follow. We take note that in the last few months of her administration, she did not hesitate to reshuffle personnel in the city treasurer’s office. This may have been one of the reasons tax collection surged.