THE economic recovery strategy and leadership of Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy is paying off as business tax collection as of January 31 is highest in at least the last ten years.
The office of the city treasurer collected P730,976,245.37 in business tax as of the end of last month. This is 26.33 percent higher than the collection over the same period in 2022. The ten-year average growth in business tax collection for the month of January is 13.02 percent.
Uy attributed this as an indication of confidence by the business sector.
“Siguro Nakita sa mga negosyante unsa ka sinsero ang city government sa pagpatumna sa economic recovery. Nagtuo sila nga sa ilang pagbayad sa sakto nga buluhisan, mabalik ra usab kini sa katawhan pinaagi sa serbisyo ug sa mga proyekto nga makaayo sa siyudad,” Uy said.
Uy thanked the office of the city treasurer for their efforts in this initial success of his administration’s economic recovery program.
City treasurer Jasmin Maagad credited the substantial growth to improvements in the gross sales of businesses as they recover from the economic slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In terms of monetary value, the January 31, 2023 business tax collection of P730.9 million was a historical high. The second highest business tax collection for the period was in January 2020 at P724,461,480.80.
It took a sharp dip in 2021 at -0.31 percent as debilitating Covid-19 quarantine restrictions drove the local economy to its knees.
A former congressman of the city’s first district, Uy instituted fiscal incentives to jumpstart the economy when he took the helm of City Hall in June 30, 2022.
