Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 785)
The main purpose of Act No. 785 is to amend Act No. 133 by providing that a civilian employee in the permanent employment of the War or Navy Department of the United States, who was not a resident of the Philippines before employment but was brought for such employment, is exempt from paying the cedula tax.
Act No. 785 specifically amends the cedula or registration tax provision under Section 2 of Act No. 133, related to the Provincial Government Act.
The cedula tax is an annual tax of one peso or one Mexican dollar, collected from every male resident between the ages of 18 and 55 residing in each province.
Every male person aged 18 to 55 residing in the province, including natives, U.S. citizens, and foreigners, except those exempted by law, are required to pay the cedula tax.
Exempted persons include soldiers, sailors, and officers of the U.S. Army or Navy; civilian employees permanently employed by the U.S. War or Navy Department who were brought to the Philippines for employment; members of non-Christian tribes; and foreign consular officers exempted by treaty or international law.
Males aged eighteen (18) years up to but not more than fifty-five (55) years of age.
No, only those civilian employees of the United States War or Navy Department who were not residents of the Islands before their employment but were brought for that purpose are exempted.
The provincial treasurer is responsible for collecting the cedula tax in each province.
The Act took effect immediately upon its passage on June 1, 1903.
The passage was expedited under Section 2 of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed on September 26, 1900, citing the public good as the reason.