FOR UNPAID TAXES: City treasurer sends notice to 2 hospitals and a school

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City treasurer’s office has intensified its tax collection efforts against delinquent taxpayers by sending notices of levy to two hospitals and a private school that still have unpaid business taxes to the city amounting to millions of pesos.

Acting city treasurer Ofelia Oliva separately issued notices of levy to the management of Cebu Doctors’ College, Cebu Velez General Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital informing them of their tax obligations.

Records showed that from 2000 to 2008, the unpaid tax assessment of Cebu Doctors’ College had reached P36,459,722 while Cebu Velez General Hospital also has P18,610,473 from 2000 to 2009, and Sacred Heart Hospital’s unpaid business taxes had reached P6,899,658 from 2000 to 2007.

The other schools and hospitals that the city had also issued certificates of levy are the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital that has P81,454,234 of unpaid business taxes from 2000 to 2004, Cebu North General Hospital, P2,483,510 from 2003 to 2006 and Southwestern University, P43,712,903 from 2000 to 2007.

It was learned that although the city treasurer’s office had issued notice of delinquency to Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) in connection with its P48,767,226 unpaid business taxes, but Oliva did not issue a notice of levy to the school.

A notice of delinquency is just to inform the management of the concerned schools and hospitals of their unpaid taxes, while the certificate of levy is that they are already advised not to dispose the subject property that will be subjected to an auction if they will continue to insist of not paying the tax obligation after one month.

CIT president Gregorio Escario as well as University of Cebu (UC) president Augusto Go had already agreed to sign a compromise agreement with the City of Cebu to amicably settle their tax obligation.

Both of them have agreed that half of their tax obligations to the city will be paid in cash while the rest are to be paid in kind, through scholarship and it will be the city that will screen the beneficiaries.

   Oliva explained that after one month from the issuance of the certificate of levy the city will publish the names of the concerned delinquent taxpayers and will also conduct public auction of their properties.

   The city wanted to collect business tax from these schools and hospitals equivalent to ¾ of one per cent or 75 centavos for every P100 of gross income, but its owners strongly opposed on it claiming that they are non-profit institutions.

But the mayor said the schools and hospitals are earning so much and it would be unfair that they are not paying taxes and they are contributing to the traffic congestion problem and garbage of the city.

The officials of some schools and hospitals here had banded together and sued the city in court in their effort to stop it from enforcing the ordinance. — Rene U. Borromeo/NLQ (FREEMAN NEWS)