Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 25) — The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill which provides for the third tranche of the government’s tax reform program, which seeks changes to the real property valuation in the country.
With 224 affirmative votes, seven negatives, and one abstention, House Bill 4664 or the “Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act” hurdled the chamber. It aims to establish a single valuation base for all real properties in the country.
The measure mandates the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to develop and implement a uniform valuation standard for appraisal or valuation of lands, buildings, machinery, and other real properties for taxation.
The bill also requires the BLGF to develop an electronic database of all the sales, exchanges, leases, mortgages, donations, transfers, and all other real property transactions in the country.
According to the Department of Finance, a single valuation base will eliminate “wide disparities and achieve consistency in real property valuation.”
Further, the agency also said that the third package of the tax reform will help national and local governments to increase their revenues without adopting new tax measures. The bill will lead to an increase of revenues through real property through real property tax, national government’s real property transfer taxes, and other related taxes.
The chamber already approved last September the government’s second tax reform package, House Bill 4157 or the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act, which would cut corporate taxes and revamp fiscal incentives to businesses.
