Porac gets no share from Clark revenues, says mayor
By Charlene A. Cayabyab
DESPITE being part of the Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC), Porac Mayor Jaime Capil said his municipality does not receive any share from Clark Freeport Zone’s (CFZ) gross income earned (GIE) on registered business enterprises in town.
“Sa ngayon po, nakakalungkot, walang natatanggap na share ang Porac mula sa kita ng Clark,” Capil said during a press briefing with Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami) on December 17.
Republic Act (RA) 7227, or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, governs the operations of the then Clark Special Economic Zone.
Section 15 of RA 7227 as amended states that “… no national and local taxes shall be imposed on registered business enterprises within the CFZ. In lieu of said taxes, a five percent tax on gross income earned shall be paid by all registered business enterprises within the CFZ and shall be directly remitted as follows: three percent to the national government and two percent to the treasurer’s office of the municipality or city where they are located.”
Clark Freeport Zone is composed of 4,400 hectares. Out of this area, at least 2,714 hectares were titled under Mabalacat City, while another 200 hectares were titled under Angeles City. The remaining 1,486 hectares that were formerly untitled were transferred to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
Capil said only the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat get shares from CFZ’s GIE.
The mayor said the GIE should and must proportionally accrue to all five component members of the MCAC–the cities of Mabalacat and Angeles and the municipalities of Porac, Capas and Bamban.
“We strongly urge the leadership of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the CDC to revisit the distribution of the LGU share of the taxes collected on GIE as to the ambiguity in the application of the phrase the municipality or city where the business is located,” Capil said.
