Parañaque City's 1st District Rep. Eric Olivarez vowed that there will be no increase in business permit and real property tax in the next three years of his administration if he wins as mayor.
Olivarez gave the assurance after local and foreign businessmen, as well as real property owners, asked him not to increase tax rates as they continue to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Up to now, hundreds of businessmen in the city have not been able to recover from the pandemic. The local government must help them,” Olivarez said.
Like other countries, Olivarez said the Philippine economy would take more than a decade to return to pre-pandemic growth and the losses would be felt over the next 20 to 30 years.
Olivarez said his administration will continue the online transaction project of his elder brother, Mayor Edwin Olivarez, for business permit renewal, computerization of data, information and transactions at the city hall.
Parañaque was cited as the most business-friendly local government unit for its Project Express Lane 2 which enhanced investors’ confidence and improved the delivery of services.
Lawyer Melanie Soriano-Malaya, chief of the city's Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), disclosed that almost 10 to 15 percent of the 25,000 registered businesses in the city were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I fully agree with the proposal of Cong. Eric Olivarez not to increase rates of taxes. We need to help our investors, particularly the SMEs, to recover first,” Malaya said.
Soriano-Malaya added that the better course of action for the city is to improve collection and to encourage everyone to share in the recovery by paying the right taxes.