Hydro-electric power producer SN Aboitiz Power Corp. and host province Benguet reached a compromise agreement on a real property tax dispute that reached P157.7 million.
SN Aboitiz, the joint venture of SN Power of Norway, said the agreement represented three years of tax benefits to the municipalities of Bokod and Itogon and the province of Benguet.
SN Aboitiz chief operating office Joseph Yu welcomed the agreement and recognition of the company’s position in the dispute.
“But what is more important is our relationship with our partners. That is why SNAP has come to a decision not to demand the refund of the excess of the taxes we have paid, so our host communities can utilize the full amount of P157.7 million for their community development projects” he said.
The parties signed the agreement in a ceremony on Oct. 25, 2016 in Baguio City. Governor Crescencio Pacalso represented the provincial government of Benguet while Yu represented the company.
Benguet issued an ordinance in 2010, lowering the tax rate of structures to 40 percent from 80 percent. However, at the start of the implementation of the ordinance in 2014, Bokod and Itogon applied the higher tax rate of 80 percent to some SN Aboitiz properties after assessing them as machinery.
The company filed its opposition with the provincial treasurer’s office and eventually to the Local Board of Assessment Appeals.