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THE Quezon City government has warned all shopping
malls especially the big ones to make sure that all their tenants
issue official receipts to their customers or they would face
sanctions.
City treasurer Victor Endriga
said owners of big shopping malls will also be held liable if one of
their tenants were caught violating City Ordinance 1663.
The ordinance, which was approved
by the City Council, gives the city treasurer the authority to
penalize entrepreneurs that fail to issue receipts.
Endriga said that Section 20 of
the QC Revenue Code of 1993 authorized the city treasurer to
“examine the books of accounts and other pertinent records” of
any entities subject to city taxes, fees and charges in order to
“ascertain, assess and collect the correct amount to be imposed
and collected.”
He added that the ordinance
improves the collection of the right and just taxes and counters
tax-evasion techniques by unscrupulous business owners.
Earlier, the Treasurer’s Office
has investigated 231 business establishments for not issuing
receipts to their customers.
Endriga said no
establishment—big or small—would be spared. He said they must
comply with the ordinance if they want to continue doing business in
the city.
“We want to make sure that all
taxes from the business establishments in the city are collected
properly and (we want to) discourage tax evaders,” Endriga said
Quezon City has the most number
of huge shopping centers and malls: SM North Edsa, SM Fairview and
SM Centerpoint, the newly constructed Tri-Noma, Robinson’s Mall,
Ever Gotesco Mall and the Araneta Center.
Most of these shopping centers
have been renting out spaces for boutiques and kiosks.
Endriga said that compelling
businessmen to issue proper receipts or sales invoices would benefit
the national government, considering that the value-added tax can be
properly monitored and collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
 --Jefferson
Antiporda
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