Is it right for tax authorities to sell your property?

[ASEAN NOW News]

 

Last week we reported that the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO) of South Cotabato was planning to conduct an auction sale for some 2,000 properties with arrears in real property tax (RPT).

In a statement Thursday, PTO local tax operation officer Zenaida Erum said they have already published in local newspapers the real properties with unpaid taxes that are about to be auctioned on Nov. 22 this year.

Most of the properties are agricultural and residential lands.

 

She said they also have commercial lots, commercial buildings and residential buildings.

She noted that the owners of the delinquent properties have a total tax due of PHP94,531,651, some going back to 1960’s.
 

“Although some of these lands were inherited, the record from the Assessor’s Office shows they are still in the name of the original owners. The new owners are not aware of their undue taxes, some of them were surprised when they received the notice,” she explained.

 

Is it fair?

 

 

Of course, governments everywhere try to extract the maximum in taxes and property is one their biggest earners.

 

That said you have to feel for some of the poorer owners who may have inherited a home or a plot of land which was passed down after relatives have passed away.

 

Unable to pay extra costs they fall into default easily.

 

Seems the authorities in those cases should have a truce so the new owner only needs to pay taxes if they want to sell.

 

Many could be family homes and they cannot afford to pay huge taxes.

 

Authorities appealed to these delinquent real property owners, especially those who received the notice, to consult with the PTO or the nearest Municipal Treasurer’s Office.

“Delinquent taxpayers need to update their payment and must know what to do to prevent the auction sale of their properties,” she said.

The property owners are given time to settle the tax delinquency upon receipt of the warrant. Failure to pay means the forfeited property will be published before the scheduled auction.

 

Assume that the real offenders do lose the lands while authorities show a bit of compassion and work out a way to assist these poorer owners.