G.R. No. 160756 March 9, 2010
FACTS: Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations, Inc. (CREBA) is an association of real estate developers and builders in the Philippines. It filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus questioning the constitutionality of Section 27 (E) of Republic Act (RA) 8424 and the revenue regulations (RRs) issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to implement said provision and those involving creditable withholding taxes. It impleaded former Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, then acting Secretary of Finance Juanita D. Amatong and then Commissioner of Internal Revenue Guillermo Parayno, Jr. as respondents. CREBA assails the validity of the imposition of minimum corporate income tax (MCIT) on corporations and creditable withholding tax (CWT) on sales of real properties classified as ordinary assets.
CREBA argues that the MCIT violates the due process clause because it levies income tax even if there is no realized gain. CREBA also seeks to nullify Sections 2.57.2(J) (as amended by RR 6-2001) and 2.58.2 of RR 2-98, and Section 4(a)(ii) and (c)(ii) of RR 7-2003, all of which prescribe the rules and procedures for the collection of CWT on the sale of real properties categorized as ordinary assets. Petitioner contends that these revenue regulations are contrary to law for two reasons: first, they ignore the different treatment by RA 8424 of ordinary assets and capital assets and second, respondent Secretary of Finance has no authority to collect CWT, much less, to base the CWT on the gross selling price or fair market value of the real properties classified as ordinary assets.
ISSUE: Whether or not the imposition of the MCIT on domestic corporations is unconstitutional.
: Whether or not the imposition of CWT on income from sales of real properties classified as ordinary assets under RRs 2-98, 6-2001 and 7-2003, is unconstitutional.
DECISION: No. Under the MCIT scheme, a corporation, beginning on