HRRAC appeals for property tax break

CEBU, Philippines — The Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) is appealing for tax holiday from local government units (LGUs) as most companies are spending for property repairs or major renovations, while others are temporarily shutting down.

In an interview with HRRAC president Alfred Reyes, he said what the government can immediately do to support the hospitality stakeholders after the typhoon is to implement real estate break or tax holidays, at least for real estate tax, while business is not in good shape.

“Business is not good. Giving tax holiday to those hotels/resorts with huge damages is a big help,” said Reyes who also reported that the typhoon left an estimated P3 billion losses to the hospitality sector in Cebu.

Prior to the typhoon, the national government through the SB Corporation allocated a sizeable amount to help tourism stakeholders recover from the brunt of the pandemic.

In 2020, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat urged micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to avail of the CARES for Tourism Rehabilitation and Vitalization of Enterprises and Livelihood (CARES for TRAVEL) Program to help them sustain their businesses and keep their workers amid the on-going pandemic.

“The CARES for TRAVEL program primarily seeks to assist tourism MSMEs. The support we give them now will come a long way in ensuring their survival in the coming days as we embark on slowly resuming tourism. The DOT is thrilled to share the news that enterprises may submit their loan applications online, while we are awaiting the download of funds to SB Corp," Puyat said.

Through the DOT and SB Corp's CARES for TRAVEL program, tourism MSMEs will have access to zero interest, no-collateral loans with a loan term period of up to four years, including a corresponding grace period of up to one year. The borrower MSMEs will only need to pay a one-time service fee to the SB Corp, the amount of which will depend on the loan term period: 4 percent for one year; 6 percent for two years; 7.5 percent for three years; and 8 percent for four years.

According to Reyes, despite the availability of the loan, most Cebu tourism stakeholders opted not to apply because there was nothing to fix, in terms of structure.

But with the recent devastation, hoteliers are needing additional capitalization, or at least tax holidays in order to survive.

At least five big resorts, mostly in Mactan are currently closed and undergoing major repairs.