DIGESTS
Tax Amnesty
Definition of tax; Distinguished from license or fee.
A tax refers to a financial obligation imposed by a state on persons, whether natural or juridical, within its jurisdiction, for property owned, income earned, business or profession engaged in, or any such activity analogous in character for raising the necessary revenues to take care of the responsibilities of government. An often-quoted definition is that of Cooley: “Taxes are the enforced proportional contributions from persons and property levied by the state by virtue of its sovereignty for the support of government and for all public needs.”
As distinguished from other pecuniary burdens, the differentiating factor is that the purpose to be subserved is the raising of revenue. A tax then is neither a penalty that must be satisfied or a liability arising from contract. Much less can it be confused or identified with a license or a fee as a manifestation of an exercise of the police power. It has been settled law in this jurisdiction as far back as Cu Unjieng v. Potstone, decided in 1962 (42 Phil. 818), that this broad and all-encompassing governmental competence to restrict rights of liberty and property carries with it the undeniable power to collect a regulatory fee. Unlike a tax, it has not for its object the raising of revenue but looks rather to the enactment of specific measures that govern the relations not only as between individuals but also as between private parties and the political society. To quote from Cooley anew: “Legislation for these purposes it would seem proper to look upon as being made in the exercise of that authority …spoken of as the police power.”
~~~Republic of the Philippines vs. Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines, Inc. (G.R. No. L-26862, 30 March 1970, En Banc, J. Fernando)
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Lifeblood of the government
Taxes, the lifeblood of the government, are meant to be paid without delay and often oblivious to contingencies or conditions.
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That taxation is an essential attribute of sovereignty and the lifeblood of every nation are doctrines well-entrenched in our jurisdiction. Taxes are the government’s primary means to generate funds needed to fulfill its mandate of promoting the general welfare and well-being of the people and so should be collected without unnecessary hindrance.
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