Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) — Quezon City was named as the country’s top performing city in terms of revenue collection, according to the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance.
In the bureau’s memorandum circular dated July 29 but published on Tuesday, Quezon City was shown to have accumulated over P22.91 billion in taxes last year.
“The city’s tax income came from real property tax, business tax and other taxes, such as amusement, transfer, and contractors among others,” the Quezon City government said on Wednesday.
Ed Villanueva, its city treasurer, noted that the local government’s online services and establishment of satellite offices for tax payment helped ease processes and encouraged more business owners to settle their dues.
He added that Mayor Joy Belmonte’s decision to allow a staggered payment scheme for underdeclared and undeclared business taxes instead of penalties also encouraged businessmen to settle their obligations.
Other cities in the bureau’s list of top ten performing cities were Makati, Manila, Taguig, Pasig, Parañaque, Pasay, Davao, Mandaluyong, and Valenzuela with collected revenues ranging from P3.89-P13.77 billion.
Meanwhile, the ‘City of Stars’ was also included in the Hall of Fame of cities with highest locally sourced revenues, after placing first in tax collection for three consecutive years (2018-2020). Joining Quezon City in the Hall of Fame were the cities of Makati and Manila.
