LEGAZPI CITY – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Albay has deffered the passage of an ordinance which seeks to increase the real property taxes in the province.

        Board Member Raul Bojeron, chairman, SP committee on ways and means, said RA 7160 mandates local governments to pass an enabling ordinance for the appraisal of real properties for taxation purposes.

        For this purpose, the chairman of the ways and means committee invited Provincial Assessor Moises Badrina to explain the proposed increase of market values of the different kinds of real properties in the province.

        According to Badrina, the proposed tax hike will be minimal from 5% to 10% only. For instance, the tax to be levied for a hectare of coconut land will only be P10.

        He said that after Typhoon Reming when the province of Albay was badly battered, the Provincial Government was able to ask the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to defer the general revision of real properties for taxation purposes. So that in 2004 to the present we did not have an ordinace authorizing the increase in real property taxes.

        “We are asking the Provincial Board to pass an enabling ordinance for the conduct of the general revision for 2008 which will be implemented in 2009, “ Badrina said.

        But BM Ramon Alsua, chairman, committee on agriculture, pointed out that “If we increase taxes now when the people are suffering from global recession, we will be adding another problem,” He added that he is in favor of another moratorium.

        Alsua asked Badrina to give him the number of real property owners and how many of them are paying taxes religiously. He estimated that only about 17% of real property taxpayers of Albay are paying correct taxes.

        Badrina countered that he has no list yet of the number of real property owners in Albay saying that the role of the assessor’s office is only to assess the value of real properties but it is the provincial treasurer’s office that collect taxes.

        Incidentally, Badrina revealed that Albay is still No. 1 in real property administration. “Our target is P54 million but as of now, we have already collected more than P70 million, “ said. He added that his office has also collected revenues of more than P1 million for certification and annotation fees.