Taxpayers express satisfaction on tax services at the mall

ILOILO CITY – Small entrepreneurs here have express increase level of satisfaction due to efficient and simpler business permit and licensing system (BPLS) implemented by the city government since early 2008 at the city hall offices located at a shopping mall.

City mayor Jerry P. Treñas admitted that he is eyeing a satellite office for the city treasurer and assessor once construction of the new city hall is completed by 2010 at the old site fronting Plaza Libertad.

As of the present, the bulk of cityhall offices that include the city mayor’s office, city treasurer, assessor and permits and licensing are concentrated at the Robinsons Place Iloilo.

A survey conducted by the German Technical cooperation (GTZ) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) last year showed that after implementing some reforms at streamlining the functions of the business permit and licensing division, offices of the treasurer and assessor, the customers and taxpaying public who transacted business at these offices showed satisfaction at the less tiring and less costly on their part.

The customers claimed that after assessment of tax dues and fees, they were asked to leave their application to a service personnel and returned the following day to get their business permit.

Some said that it is good to process their application at the mall because they are being entertained by the personnel well and there are chairs and benches and they are many people they can ask for help.

Some also claimed that the place is air conditioned and they feel comfortable while processing their papers. Other claimed that they can go shopping or eat at the mall while waiting for their papers.

They said that the one-stop-shop made their processing more convenient and faster since almost all offices are in one area.

The survey also showed that the original 18 signatories in 2007, it was reduced to 8 signatories and the forms to be accomplished by business applicant were reduced from 30 to 12 dorms for renewal and from 33 to 12 for new application.

With these developments, it was noted that the reduction in the number of steps, forms and processing time in securing a business permit resulted to 53.20 percent increase by January 2008 or 4,550 permits issued as compared to 2,970 in January 2007.

It also resulted in the increase of business tax revenue by 41.32 percent as compared to the same period in 2007. Even with the business tax increase starting January 2008, there was still an increase in the number of businesses that processed their permits at cityhall.

However, most of the survey respondents said that some areas of the BPLS need further improvement like the use of visible signages for each office involved in the process, the sequential arrangement of tables as reflected in the process flow chart posted on the walls, strong information dissemination and aggressive campaign against fixers and bureaucratic red tape.

The survey also showed that almost all respondents agreed that improving the BPLS would encourage more business to get or renew their business permits. They also agreed that the policies adopted by the city government are supportive of the growth of small and medium enterprises.

by Lydia C. Pendon