This was the main justification given by Mayor Amadeo Perez IV as he explained the city government’s plan to implement an updated real property tax (RPT) assessment next year.
He said the existing rates are still based on values when Urdaneta was a first class town.
Perez further pointed out that Urdaneta City was not among the local government units (LGUs) covered when the provincial government increased the RPT assessment in Pangasinan through an ordinance enacted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan late last year.
The mayor also clarified that the decision to increase RPT rates is not due to the expected decrease in the city’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) next year by P44 million, the fund coming from the national government.
The decrease in IRA is a result of the declaration of 16 new cities around the country that will now share in the IRA starting next year.
He said the decrease in the city’s share of the IRA, however, will affect the number of casual employees starting January 2012.
"We are converting our present auditorium to become our second Bagsakan Market precisely because we want to increase our income so that we can plug the loophole in our revenue share," Perez said.
The additional wholesale market will enable the city to handle a higher volume of trading of vegetables from other towns, cities and provinces in northern Luzon for shipment to Metro Manila, Clark and Subic.
Meanwhile, the city government is also gearing up for a massive tree planting program next year to contribute to the nationwide effort to cushion the impact of climate change.
Source: Sunday Punch
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