Supreme Court halts QC's real property tax hike

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stopped the Quezon City government from implementing a resolution that raises the city’s real property tax rates by 100 to 500 percent.

Sitting en banc, the High Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against QC Ordinance No. 2556 (Series of 2016), which approved the fair market value of lands and basic unit construction costs for buildings and other structures towards a revision of real property assessments in Quezon City. 

The ordinance meant to increase existing real property values from 100% to 500%, to be effective this year for land, and in 2018 for buildings and other structures.

The QC government earlier estimated that the local measure would increase its collection by P700 million on the first year of implementation. 

The SC order was in response to a petition by the Alliance of Quezon City Homeowners’ Association Inc. (AQCHI), which sought relief from the ordinance, arguing that its rates were “unjust and excessive.”

Acknowledging the need to increase property valuation in the city, AQCHI is calling for smaller or staggered increases.

The court ordered respondents QC Mayor Herbert Bautista, the City Assessor’s Office, and the City Treasurer’s Office to file their comment on the petition within 10 days.

Bautista earlier asked the city council to make the necessary revisions on real property rates to comply with the recommendations of the Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Finance (DOF), asserting that the rates were last updated 21 years ago, on December 19, 1995.

In an official statement, the QC government had said “[c]learly, the P5,000 per square meter land value is unrealistic, and no property owner in that area will transact at this rate.”

The QC government compared its rates with those of Caloocan City and Makati City at P55,000-P80,000 per square meter.

The local government further stressed that under the Local Government Code, “a general revision of real property assessments should be conducted every three years.”

source:  ABS-CBN News

CA junks PH Heart Center's bid for real property tax exemption

MANILA - For failure to exhaust all available administrative remedies, the Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the Philippine Heart Center's (PHC) bid for exemption from payment of real property tax.

In a 14-page decision, the appellate court's 13th Division dismissed PHC's appeal of an earlier ruling that junked PHC's petition that seeks an exemption from payment of unpaid real property taxes in 2004 amounting to P36.5 million. The PHC invoked an exemption granted to it by the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

The appellate court stressed that PHC should have filed the petition before the Quezon City Local Board of Assessment Appeals (LBAA), then to the Central Board of Assessment Appeals (CBAA), and eventually the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

"The premature invocation of the intervention of the court is fatal to one's cause of action. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies is based on practical and legal reasons.

"The availment of administrative remedy entails lesser expenses and provides for a speedier disposition of controversies," the CA ruled.

In 2006, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) informed PHC that consistent with the Supreme Court (SC) ruling in the case of Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) v. Court of Appeals, PHC is exempt from paying real property taxes.

PHC then stopped real property tax payments which led the local government to issue final notices of delinquency with corresponding warrants of levy.

This led PHC to elevate its case before the appellate court.

source:  ABS-CBN News