Higit Pa Bumuo ng Blog Mag-sign in

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. ARLENE R. SORIANO

G.R. No. 211666 February 25, 2015

FACTS
Petitioner Republic of the Philippines, represented by DPWH, filed a Complaint for expropriation against respondent Arlene R. Soriano, the
registered owner of a parcel of land. In its Complaint, petitioner averred that pursuant to RA No. 8974, otherwise known as "An Act to
Facilitate the Acquisition of Right-Of-Way, Site or Location for National Government Infrastructure Projects and for other Purposes," the
property sought to be expropriated shall be used in implementing the construction of the NLEX- Harbor Link Project (Segment 9) from NLEX
to MacArthur Highway, Valenzuela City. Consequently, the RTC ordered the issuance of a Writ of Possession and a Writ of Expropriation. In
another Order, the RTC appointed members of the Board of Commissioners for the determination of just compensation. According to the
RTC, the records of the case reveal that petitioner adduced evidence to show that the total amount deposited is just, fair, and
equitable. The RTC considered respondent to have waived her right to adduce evidence and to object to the evidence submitted by
petitioner for her continued absence despite being given several notices to do so. On November 15, 2013, the RTC rendered its Decision.
Petitioner now claims that contrary to the RTC’s instruction, transfer taxes, in the nature of Capital Gains Tax and Documentary Stamp Tax,
necessary for the transfer of the subject property from the name of the respondent to that of the petitioner are liabilities of respondent and
not petitioner.

ISSUE
Whether or not the payment of the transfer taxes is the obligation of the respondent.

RULING
Anent petitioner’s contention that it cannot be made to pay the value of the transfer taxes in the nature of capital gains tax and
documentary stamp tax, which are necessary for the transfer of the subject property from the name of the respondent to that of the
petitioner, the same is partly meritorious. Pursuant to Sections 24(D) and 56(A)(3) of the NIRC, capital gains tax due on the sale of real
property is a liability for the account of the seller. Thus, it has been held that since capital gains is a tax on passive income, it is the seller,
not the buyer, who generally would shoulder the tax. Accordingly, BIR Ruling No. 476-2013 constituted the DPWH as a withholding agent to
withhold the 6% final withholding tax in the expropriation of real property for infrastructure projects. Therefore, the capital gains tax
remains a liability of the seller since it is a tax on the seller's gain from the sale of the real estate.

As to the documentary stamp tax, however, this Court finds inconsistent petitioner’s denial of liability to the same. according to the
BIR, all the parties to a transaction are primarily liable for the documentary stamp tax, as provided by Section 2 of BIR Revenue Regulations
No. 9-2000. As a general rule, any of the parties to a transaction shall be liable for the full amount of the documentary stamp tax due,
unless they agree among themselves on who shall be liable for the same. In this case, there is no agreement as to the party liable. However,
the Citizen’s Charter, issued by petitioner DPWH itself, explicitly provides that the documentary stamp tax, transfer tax, and registration
fee due on the transfer of the title of land in the name of the Republic shall be shouldered by the implementing agency of the DPWH, while
the capital gains tax shall be paid by the affected property owner. Thus, while there is no specific agreement between petitioner and
respondent, petitioner's Citizen's Charter contains a clear and unequivocal assumption of accountability for the documentary stamp tax. Labels

Agency
Agrarian Reform Law
Credit Transactions
Criminal Law
Legal Medicine
No comments: Partnership
Property
Post a Comment Public International Law
Special Penal Law
Statutory Construction
Enter your comment...
Taxation Law
Trust
Wills and Succession

Comment as: Google Account Search This Blog

Search
Publish Preview

Total Pageviews
Newer Post Home Older Post

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

6 8 8 9 7

Current Desk Status...

2018 KIA. Simple theme. Powered by Blogger.