The Bataraza government lauded the two mining companies operating in Barangay Rio Tuba as its top taxpayers, accounting for 80-85 percent of its gross income.
Bataraza mayor Abraham Ibba said Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC) and Coral Bay Nickel Corporation’ (CBNC) taxes are helping them improve Bataraza and the living conditions of many residents.
“Napakalaki ng impact ng binabayad ni RTN at CBNC sa ekonomiya ng Bataraza. ‘Yong gross income tax, more or less nasa total of taxes of Bataraza, nasa 80-85 percent coming from the two companies na,” he said.
Specifying RTNMC, acting municipal treasurer Romana Bermudez said that the company’s real property and business taxes have a huge impact on the economy of the town.
The RTNMC’s combined payment on the mayor’s permit and licenses has reached around P34 million.
She said that since RTNMC is a mining company inside the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), it currently pays five percent gross income tax.
Out of this, three percent goes to the national government while the remaining two percent goes to the local government unit (LGU) as national wealth share.
In 2019, RTNMC paid P10 million for its real property tax from 267 real property units (RPU). Bermudez said that this has a big impact on the town welfare.
“Malaking impact niya dito kasi malaki ‘yong binabayaran nila na taxes sa real property at sa business tax,” she said.
From the record of the municipal treasurer’s office, RTNMC has already paid P31 million for real property tax from the year 2016 to 2018. While for the mayor’s permit, the company paid P86 million in the same timeline.
“Siguro dahil nagre-revise kami ng aming revenue code, may tinaasan kami. Malaking factor talaga sila [RTNMC and CBNC]. Sila ang pinakamalaking nagbabayad ng mayor’s permit sa local collection,” she said.
Bermudez said that Bataraza has already received over P10 million from the national wealth share for 2019.
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