Kalibo on track for automated tax collection, real property tax assessment

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

To ensure better service delivery and faster collection of taxes, the town of Kalibo will soon adopt the integrated software project called Enhanced Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System (ETRACS).

Kalibo municipal treasurer Elsa Tabuena said the cost-effective system will automate the real property assessment, licensing, business permit and tax collection operations. 

E-TRACS is funded by the Australian Aid for International Development (AusAID) and has become the model for best practice in revenue operations in the country today. 

The program is an innovative step towards revenue assessments and tax collection efficiency. To sustain the project, local government Information Technology units and personnel are trained by programmers of the ETRACS and its implementation.

The towns of Malay, Kalibo and Ibajay are just three of the pilot areas out of 17 towns in Aklan that will initially implement ETRACS by 2015 in collaboration with the provincial government of Aklan.

This year, the Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo has authorized Mayor William Lachica to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores to formalize ETRACs rollout in the town of Kalibo. 

Tabuena said municipality of Kalibo has to invest on the hardware components of Etracs since the software is free and the cost of implementing the project is low.