The President’s duties

The records of ancient history are a rich source of narratives that tell us how taxes have affected the course of civilization.

The clay cuneiform cones extracted at Lagash in Sumer, which is located in the fertile plain between the Tigris and the Euphrates in modern Iraq, showed that Sumerians had more to fear from tax collectors than from their lords or kings. Another source of tax lore is the Rosetta Stone inscribed around 200 B.C., the most significant relic of ancient Egyptian history.

In the prosperous island of Rhodes located in Dodecanese, Greece was the center of maritime commerce and was regarded as a maritime power. As such, it imposed a 2 percent harbor tax. But with Rome establishing a tax-free port on the Isle of Delos, Rhodes lost 85 percent of its trade within a year. Free trade, not war, enabled Rome to overthrow the commercial supremacy of Rhodes. Ironically, Rome itself fell, not to the Huns, but to tax evasion, as wealthy landowners devised one clever scheme after another to escape taxation, leaving the state without resources to defend itself.

Clearly, taxation is a tool for the survival and development of the state. Taxes are essential and indispensable for the existence of any government as they provide the means for the state to operate and render services to its citizens.

Our tax history dates back to 1916, when the US Congress expressly extended to the Philippines the Revenue Act dated Sept. 8, 1916, which became known as the Income Tax Law. The first codified internal revenue law was passed by Philippine Congress as Commonwealth Act No. 46, otherwise known as the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. These laws levied an income tax on the taxable net income of a person for various types of income from “whatever source.”

On June 3, 1977, Presidential Decree No. 1158 was issued to consolidate and integrate into one law all previous presidential decrees, executive orders, and letters of instruction concerning taxation. This consolidated law became known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1977. Its definition of taxable gross income has been retained in the present tax code. The Philippine Tax Law treats all types of income, whether acquired legally or otherwise, as taxable. There is no other interpretation.

The Supreme Court has explained many times that “taxes, the lifeblood of the government, are meant to be paid without delay and often oblivious to contingencies or conditions.” It also held that “every citizen is duty-bound to pay taxes, and to pay taxes in the right amount.”

The obligation to pay taxes is a civic duty, and there is no escaping this. Since it is the duty of all citizens, then individuals seeking the presidency of the country must also fulfill this and do their share in funding the government.

Similarly, the submission of the statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) is incumbent among public officials and employees, and enshrined under Article XI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution. Its implementation is guided by the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

It is mandatory for all public officials and employees, whether regular or coterminous, to file their SALNs upon assumption of office and every year thereafter.

The Supreme Court is very clear on this: Filing one’s SALN is the duty of every public official. That being so, it is therefore also the duty and obligation of the highest public official of the land: the President. There are no ifs and buts: Presidents cannot and must not duck this Constitutional requirement; they are not exempt from this obligation and must file their SALN as mandated by law.

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Rene G. Bañez is a former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and a professorial lecturer on tax law at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.

READ: Your SALNs, please