Negros Occ PB oks 7% real property tax hike

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Negros Occidental Provincial Board unanimously approved the resolution increasing the real property tax to seven percent of the towns’ urban lands in the province.

PB Member Salvador Escalante said the ordinance updating the schedule of current and fair market value of real properties for the towns of the province and that other provisions relative to real property tax administration is only for the urban lands and not agricultural lands. “The increase is 20 centavos per square meter,” he said.

Many landowners praised the exclusion of agricultural lands from the tax hike, noting that many farmers have shifted from sugar to rice and vegetables in anticipation of the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement next year, when zero tariff on imported sugar will be implemented. (FREEMAN)