Lapu-Lapu to give recognition to top 20 corporate taxpayers

CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu City will give recognition to the top 20 corporations that have paid the highest business and real property taxes for 2009 in ceremonies to be held tonight.

Mayor Paz Radaza said the recognition would encourage other corporations and businesses to religiously and continue paying their taxes.

The awards will be given during the investors and taxpayers night at the Marquee, Shangri-La's Mactan Resort and Spa.

Based on data, Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa ranked as the number one taxpayer for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

This will be their fourth consecutive year as number one taxpayer.

General Milling Corporations ranked number two, followed by the Lear Automotive Services (Netherlands) Corp., which was the consistent number two taxpayer of the city for two consecutive years from 2006 and 2007.

Other top taxpayers include Taiyo Yuden Philippines, Taipan Development Corporation, and Gaisano Capital-Mactan, Plantation Bay Holdings Corporation, Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, and Oikonomos International, Keppel Cebu Shipyard, Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Inc., Pentax Cebu Philippines, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Corporation, Lexmark International, Fairchild Semiconductor, Maitland-Smith Cebu, Celestistica Philippines, TMX Philippines, Olympus Optical Technology Philippines, East Asia Utilities Corporation, Big Foot Properties, and NKC Manufacturing Philippines.

Radaza said that through reenergized tax collection effort, the city will breach the 1-billion peso collection margin within her first two years in office.

As of now, the city's income has exceeded by P946 million in 2009 - combining the P399 million internal revenue allotment (IRA) from the national government and locally sourced revenue.

A newly-released report from the Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government and Finance (DOF-BLGF) shows that Lapu-Lapu City ranks third among all 15 cities in Central Visayas representing locally sourced revenue and IRA.

The city real property taxes (RPT) collection defied expectations as it exceeded by 100.23 percent.

The BLGF target on RPT of the city was P148,282, 206 but it reached to P148,621,434.09.

The total business tax collection also reached P305, 744, 843.81 last year.

 Business taxes are revenues collected from movie houses, community, corporate, professional, transfer, and franchise taxes and delivery vans and trucks, among others.

Tax collection efficiency rate, which measures a local government unit's ability to collect taxes, is computed by dividing tax collection by the total revenue within a given period. — THE FREEMAN