Leyte governor, GTZ official ink agreement on iTAX

By RODRIGO S. VICTORIA
October 20, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY  –  Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla and Dr. Andreas Lange of the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) signed on October 19, an agreement that will further boost the collection of taxes in the province of Leyte.

The document signed by Governor Petilla and Dr. Lange is an addendum to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on March 2, 2009. The document is geared to improve and strengthen the good fiscal management of the Local Government Units (LGUs) of the province of Leyte through the fiscal decentralization and local financial management component of the GTZ Decentralization Program.

The GTZ Decentralization Program through the Integrated Taxation System (iTAX) is focused on improving tax assessment and collection system and increasing the revenues of LGUs more particularly real property tax, business tax, and other local fees including non-taxable revenues.

GTZ has extended the continued use of iTAX and do a Joint Transfer Project with the province of Leyte to make tax collection more efficient and effective and to further benefit the province.

GTZ will provide iTAX software free of charge for use in the province of Leyte and its municipalities; assist and supervise the province of Leyte in the implementation of iTAX project; provide user’s manual of the modules implemented in the province of Leyte; provide access to the web forum and avail access to download updates for the iTAX software, assist the province through hotline support; conduct trainings of the province and municipal IT personnel and end-users; assist in implementing iTAX In the province and its municipalities with an iTAX technical expert; provide recommendation and guidance in other computerization programs available in the province and assist in linking iTAX system especially its GIS components with ongoing GTZ assistance inland use and development planning.

On the other hand, the province of Leyte shall procure and maintain the necessary hardware for the use of the iTAX program; shall provide the required IT personnel and corresponding office space and training venues; provide sufficient office space for the iTAX project personnel of GTZ; shall organize the initial encoding of the FAAS and RPTAR; conduct at least a quarterly meeting between the provincial chief executive, the project manager, city/municipal mayors of participating LGUs in the province of to monitor the progress of the iTAX project;  serve as secretariat of the provincial iTAX  steering committee and the iTAX technical working group through regular meetings and an actual iTAX implementation to fast track delivery of the system and activities as planned; ensure that there are at least two iTAX users in each participating LGU in the province holding a permanent position for the sustainability of the iTAX project in the province and to ensure that municipalities are enabled to use iTAX and GIS outputs in their ongoing efforts in land use and development planning.