City Hall treasurer opposes amusement tax exemptions

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City treasurer Ofelia Oliva has opposed to the granting of amusement tax exemptions by the City Council to some events in the city because it will affect the city’s revenue collection target. 

The city’s existing tax ordinance provides amusement tax exemptions to musical concerts performed by Cebu-based artists but upon approval by the council.

But the city treasurer’s office had observed that some events, whose organizers are from Manila, were totally exempted from amusement taxes because they gave donations to charitable institutions in Cebu.

However, Oliva has opposed to the procedure that event organizers are the ones who choose the charitable institutions they are donating, saying “Nganong sila may mopili kun kinsa ang hatagan?”

While Oliva failed to reveal to The FREEMAN the total amount of amusement taxes collected in 2008 and during the first six months this year, she said the collection was lesser.

An employee of the city treasurer’s office said the granting of tax exemptions to Cebu event promoters and other events gives doubts that there are officials who benefited from it.

The tax ordinance stated that the holding of concerts, dramas, musical programs, recitals, paintings and art exhibitions, flower shows, literary and oratorical presentations may be levied five to 10 percent of gross income if a part of the proceeds is donated to charitable institutions.

Amusement tax is 30 percent of the gross sales or income of theaters, cinemas, concert hall, circuses, boxing stadiums and other places of amusement.

Last year, Councilor Hilario Davide Jr. was dismayed upon learning that the city’s amusement tax collections continued to decrease because of the granting of amusement tax by the council.

The FREEMAN learned that the city had collected P49.1 million in amusement taxes in 2004. But the figure went down to P45.8 the following year but went up to P46.2 million in 2006.

 “The language of Section 140 of the LGC is clear that pop, rock or similar concerts shall, in all cases, be subject to the amusement tax regardless of who performs in them or whether or not part of the income from these concerts is donated to charity. Needless to say, between a statute and an ordinance, the ordinance must give way,” Davide said. — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM   (THE FREEMAN)