Why do we need to pay Real Estate Taxes?
I went to Manila City Hall yesterday to pay for our yearly real estate tax. But, I did not expect to see a lot of people in the area since every time I go there I feel like a queen because the area is so spacious and 4 out of 5 cashier windows are all vacant. Yesterday, I was shocked when I saw a lot of people in the area.
The people sitting are those who are still waiting for their Statement of Account be released. You cannot go directly to the cashier to pay for your real estate tax; you need the statement before paying. So, only after receiving the statement then you could now fall in line again to the cashier windows to pay for it. It took me an hour to receive my statement, and I decided to quit for the day and just go back before the month ends to pay for it since I know it will take me another hour to pay for it. If you have a companion then you can ask him/her to fall in line first so that when you receive the statement you can pay for it at once.
I heard a lot of people complaining at behind me; maybe they taught that I am a reporter since I brought my big camera to take a picture of them. Maybe they wanted me to publish bad things about this situation. Yes, I feel their sentiments because they came from far places and it just happen that they have a property in Manila and that they are required to pay in Manila (of course!) But one thing that made me cool and look at the positive side is the way the people of the City Hall treat the tax payers. They were giving away FREE Iced Tea and FREE coffee; they also have a LCD TV so that the people will be preoccupied at the moment.
My husband once asked me, why do we always pay real estate tax wherein the building and lot is already ours? I really don’t know how to answer it correctly, because all I know is that it is our responsibility. We should pay real estate tax to avoid getting in trouble because the government can get your property anytime if you will not pay for the taxes.
By the way, if you’ll pay your real estate tax for the whole year before February 1, 2009 you are entitled for a 20% discount. If you will pay it quarterly on every 1st month of the quarter you’ll have a 15% discount, and 10% discount if paid on the 2nd and 3rd month of the quarter. While they will ask for a 2% charge for late and delinquent payment every month.
thanks Jules for the correction
and Chris thanks for the tag, I’ll check it out later
we often wonder why we need to pay real estate taxes as well…
anyway, i have a valentines tag for you! 😀
I think you made a typo error regarding tax discounts. 20% will be given on or before February 2010. We do pay our RPT a year ahead. In that way, you can avoid a great number of people beating the deadline.