By
Dexter A. See
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – President Aquino said around P1.8 billion
will be allotted in next year’s executive budget to pay all local governments,
including Baguio City, which were shortchanged in the remittance of their two
percent share from the taxes by paid by locators doing business with the
Philippine Economic Zone Authority within their jurisdiction since 1995.
“The national
government will settle all its obligations to local governments hosting PEZA
locators so that more funds will be downloaded to the host communities to fund
the implementation of their priority projects and enhance the delivery of basic
services to the people,” Aquino said, when asked on when will the national
government settle its P125 million obligation representing its accumulated
unremitted share of the local government from the taxes paid by PEZA locators
in 2003 and 2004.
According to the President, the
allocation of the P1.8 billion in next year’s budget will already address all
the national government’s obligations to host local government for hosting
economic zones in order for local officials to be able to use such generated
funds to bankroll their priority development projects that will have a great
impact in the growth of communities in the rural areas.
In the case of the Summer Capital,
Aquino said the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the National Treasury were able
to iron out the conflicts in their respective figures on the actual amount to
be paid by the national government which was reduced to only P85 million from
the original P125 million.
Under the PEZA law of 1995, local
governments hosting economic zones are entitled to a share of 2 percent out of
the total 5 percent of taxes being paid by locators to the national government
as per their gross receipts.
The Chief Executive explained local governments who
believe they are shortchanged in the remittance of their share from the PEZA
taxes must file their claims with the Office of the President duly supported by
valid certifications from the BIR and the National Treasury indicating the
deficiency in the taxes remitted to the host local government so that the
Department of Finance could process the immediate release of the deficiency
chargeable from the aforesaid fund.
Since his assumption as the country’s
15th president, President
Aquino had repeatedly committed to facilitate the city’s accumulated and
unremitted share from the taxes paid by PEZA locators over the past several
years considering that the national government is duty-bound to release
whatever is its obligation to local governments in order for the host
communities to have enough funds for its various unfunded and unimplemented
priority projects and enhance the delivery of basic services, especially to the
lower classes of the population.
“We want to have a
clean slate with our obligations to our local governments, thus, we are working
hard to determine the causes of the problem on unremitted PEZA shares so that
we can implement corrective measures that will guarantee correct remittance to
the local governments in the future,” Aquino said, citing that the timely
release of the share of local governments from whatever share due them should
also be a priority that they will address in the coming months.
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