By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff Reporter
Laoag
City treasurer Ma. Elena Asuncion is all
smiles as the city government reported that it has reached the 100 percent
permit renewal of all businesses in the city.
Records show that Laoag currently
has a total of 3,941 registered business establishments that have renewed their
licenses and an additional 106 new business applications as of April 4, 2014.
The city processed 3,929
business establishments last year.
The recorded delinquent
payers have also complied with their yearly obligations before the first
quarter ended with the help of barangay officials. The barangay officials
served as the city government’s “eyes and ears” in discovering which business
establishments in their respective areas had no permits to operate.
The treasury office’s task
force and enforcement team also continuously roamed around in different
barangays assigned to them to monitor the same.
The new business
establishments in the city included newly operational boarding houses and
apartments, both of which are in demand in the city’s university belt.
Meanwhile, Asuncion revealed
that one of the secrets in reaching the 100 percent renewal is their continuous
information dissemination and the strict implementation of the “no business
permit, no business to operate” policy.
She added that the barangay
officials’ help was also huge. They served as their partners in monitoring
their respective areas for “colorum” business establishments.
Asuncion’s staff also
attended barangay assemblies to reiterate the duties and obligations of
business owners.
In a related development,
Asuncion also said that the city’s Investment Incentive Code continues to be
implemented. She said this has been availed by big corporations which have
national prominence and scope.
In the said code,
establishments which invest multi-million pesos are given a three-year tax
holiday. They would only be required to pay the regulatory fee.
As for the real property tax,
beneficiaries are also given a grant of 70 percent as their tax discount from
the basic tax, the remaining 30 percent would have to be paid as these are for the
barangay share and the special education fund.
Asuncion emphasized that this
is one of the big reasons investors continue to put up business in the city.
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