LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government vehemently denied allegations of concerned stakeholders at the La Trinidad vegetable trading post that it is imposing double taxation to businessmen conducting their economic activities inside the government facility.
Mayor Romeo Salda said that the allegations being hurled by some interest groups against the mode of imposing taxes in the conduct of their business activities in the trading post and branding the same as double taxation is unfair, baseless and unfounded because what is being required from them is to pay their obligation to the government in the utilization of the government facility.
“We are saddened by the fact that there are still some interest groups in the trading post who continue to mislead the people on pressing issues and concerns affecting the operation of the facility. People doing business activities inside the trading facility should pay to the government what is due and not for them to resort to any move that will allow them to evade the payment of their obligations to the local government,” Mayor Salda stressed.
The local chief executive claimed that it is unfortunate the interest groups resort to black propaganda against the officials and employees of the local government regarding the issue when they could simply approach the concerned offices for them to be clarified about the matter instead of the matter being blown out of context.
According to him, disposers could not use the permit of a cooperative to clothe their business activities inside the trading post. That is why it is doubtful on the part of certain groups and individuals doing business inside the government facility to hide the business side of their activities that warrant the imposition of taxes by the local government.
He challenged groups and individuals who have concerns in the imposition of taxes to raise their issues to the concerned offices to effectively and efficiently address their taxation problems, and not for them to resort to black propaganda simply to advance their own personal interests.
Salda added that the taxes being collected from the economic activities being conducted within the vegetable trading post are legally mandated under the town’s revised revenue code, although there are efforts from the local legislative body to update the municipal trading post ordinance which is still pending deliberations and not yet considered to be effective.
Earlier, some concerned stakeholders in the vegetable trading post branded the collection of taxes from cooperatives and disposers as double taxation on the part of the local government.
Salda explained the issue had been time and again raised by the concerned groups and individuals and that concerned offices of the local government were able to clarify the issue. He is now wondering why the said individuals continue to raise the matter which had already also been contested by the same people in the local courts among other venues where they tried to contest the tax imposition of the municipal government.
By HENT
