Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2339)
The short title of Act No. 2339 is The Internal Revenue Law of Nineteen Hundred and Fourteen.
The Collector of Internal Revenue and Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue are appointed by the Governor-General with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is tasked with the collection of all taxes, fees, and charges specified in the Act, enforcement of forfeitures, penalties, and fines, administration of supervisory and police powers, and enforcement of other laws under its jurisdiction.
All male inhabitants of the Philippine Islands over the age of eighteen and under sixty years are liable to pay the cedula tax, subject to certain exceptions such as commissioned officers of the US Army, paupers, insane persons, and exempted members of non-Christian tribes.
The cedula tax is initially one peso, but in the City of Manila and certain provinces, it may be increased to two pesos by resolution of the municipal or provincial board.
Upon delinquency, the cedula tax shall be doubled. Additionally, a person who remains delinquent for fifteen days may be prosecuted and sentenced to imprisonment for ten days, with compulsory labor as ordered by the provincial board.
Documents subject to documentary stamp tax include bonds, debentures, certificates of stock, sales and transfers of stock, checks, drafts, promissory notes, insurance policies, mortgages, leases, charters, and many others as specifically detailed in the Act.
Yes, exemptions include government bonds, checks and bills of exchange issued in payment of government debts, policies of insurance by fraternal societies, certificates of oaths administered to government officials, and certain certified copies and certificates related to government functions.
Privilege taxes are required to be paid before a business or occupation can be lawfully conducted. The tax can be fixed or based on a percentage of business receipts, and applies per business establishment or per individual engaged in the occupation.
Distilled spirits produced from nipa, coconut, or buri palms or from cane are taxed at twenty-five centavos per proof liter; those produced from other materials are taxed at seventy centavos per proof liter, with proportional increases for proof strength above standard.
Prohibited drugs may be lawfully kept and dispensed by duly licensed physicians, dentists, and veterinarians for medical use; government bureaus designated by the Governor-General; and pharmacists dispensing upon proper prescription and permit.
The Collector of Internal Revenue, Deputy Collector, internal-revenue agents, provincial treasurers and their deputies have authority to make arrests and seizures for violations of the Internal Revenue Law and its regulations.
A taxpayer who questions a tax must pay it under protest and request the decision of the Collector of Internal Revenue. If adverse, the taxpayer may bring an action for recovery of the tax within two years after payment.
They shall be punished by a fine ranging from four hundred to ten thousand pesos, or imprisonment from six months to five years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Such unstamped instruments shall not be recorded nor admitted in evidence in any court until the stamps are properly affixed and canceled.
Internal-revenue taxes may be collected by distraint of personal property, and if insufficient, by levy and sale of real property. The cedula tax collection is exclusively by distraint.
The Philippine Islands may be divided by the Collector of Internal Revenue into inspection districts, each overseen by an internal-revenue agent to administer and enforce the law effectively.
An officer who unlawfully divulges confidential information shall be fined up to two thousand pesos or imprisoned six months to five years, or both, in the court's discretion.
Such persons must keep conspicuous signs on their business premises stating their name or firm style, their business classification (e.g., 'Registered distiller'), and their assessment number in letters not less than six centimeters high.
Forfeiture of chattels and fixtures is enforced by seizure, sale, or destruction. Real property forfeiture requires judicial action. Revenue officers have authority to order destruction of goods injurious to public health or revenue enforcement.