BY JUN RAMIREZ
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has dismissed the petition of the University of the Philippines (UP) to invalidate the P9 million value-added and expanded withholding taxes imposed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The court’s en banc decision upheld the verdict of its First Division which described the appeal as “without merit.”
UP argued that it was tax exempt under its charter, Republic Act No.9500 of 2008. But the resolution penned by Associate Justice Jean Marie Bacorro-Villena stated that the tax assessment covered 2006 tax liabilities, prior to the enactment of the charter.
The decision stated that a tax law cannot be applied retroactively, but prospectively, unless expressly stated otherwise “in a language to clear to be mistaken.”
However, Associate Justice Catherine Manahan disagreed with the majority decision saying the litigation of the case was a waste of time.
In a dissenting opinion, Manahan said the national government provides the annual budget of UP, likening the situation to the transfer of government funds from one pocket to another.
She said the case should have been settled out-of-court pursuant to Presidential Decree 242 as it concerned government offices with no private parties involved. (Jun Ramirez)
