TACLOBAN CITY — A local environmental advocacy group is appealing to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regional office in Eastern Visayas to review its approved hike in zonal values of land in different municipalities in Leyte.

Save Our Soils Movement president Ray Junia disclosed that the increase in land zonal value may kill small businesses and farming.

“If you look at the numbers, you can see that something is very wrong,” said Junia in a statement. “Our farmers are already hard up, but they will be shelling out more for the taxes.”

Junia cited his coconut land property in Tolosa town where the zonal value increased by 800 percent compared to the zonal valuation in 2017. In the town of San Miguel, he said the zonal value for coconut increased by 5,355 percent, while in Alangalang town by 2,900 percent.

Last Friday, Junia personally handed in a letter to the BIR regional office requesting a suspension and review of the BIR regulation on zonal values.

“I wrote a letter to the BIR just in case they overlooked the consequences that it will bring to the local economy, to remind them that there are other approaches to improve the local economy,” Junia said.

In his letter, Junia said that while they acknowledge the importance of updating zonal values to reflect current market conditions, they stressed that the extreme magnitude of this increase is highly alarming.

“Such a regulation was enacted without adequate consultations and fails to consider the affordability levels of our community, especially in rural areas that dominate the Eastern Visayas Region,” said Junia in his letter.

He added that the excessive zonal valuations will discourage real estate investments, burden agricultural producers and stifle the economic development in rural communities.

Junia revealed that his group is asking the BIR to conduct broader consultations with stakeholders, including local government units, landowners, investors and community organizations.

The group also wants an imposed zonal value that is aligned with actual market conditions to ensure affordability and make future increases gradual to avoid economic shocks and ensure compliance from all sectors.