Procter & Gamble Phlls., Inc. vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenuf! 1

DECISION

GTA CASE NO·' 5000

- 2 - dividends in the amounts of PlO,OOO,OOO.OO, P46,000,000.00 and P80,000,000.00 1 respectively.

Petitioner withheld twenty (20%) per centum withholding tax on said cash dividends, paid the 20% tax to the BIR and with Central Bank approval remitted the net dividends to its parent company, Procter & Gamble Go, U.S.A. as follows: CASH 201

DATE OP

DATE OP

DIVIDENDS IIITBBOLDIIIG IIITBBOLDIRG TAl

MET DIVIDERDS

DIVIDERD DECLARED TAl PAYHEifT RKHITTED RKIITTARCE --------- ----------- ------~---·---- ------------- ---------- p 10,000,000 p 2,000,000 06/19/91 p 8,000,000 06/30/91 46,000,000 9,200,000 11/07/91 36,800,000 11/27/91 ....... ~.9. .. , .. 9.9..9. .. 1 .. 9..9..9.. ....!.~.1..9..9..9..1..9..9..9. 04/28/92 ........ H.~..9..9..~J..9..9.9. 05/19/92 r::~:~:~::~~:~:~::!::~:~:~: r.~~},,!1,~~!::~g:~ ~:t~~~~~:~:~:!:~2::~ On July 8 1

1992 1

petitioner filed with the respondent 1 through the Appellate Division of the biR, a claim for tax refund or tax credit of overpaid or erroneously paid withholding tax in the ~ggregate amount of six million eight httndred thousand pesos (P6 1 800 1 000.00) on the aforecited dividends.

It ~as the contention of the petitioner that the correct rate of withholding tax on dividends remitted by a Philippine subsidiary to a u.s. parent company is fifteen percent (15%) on-ly ~~r~U4fit ~o Section 25(b)(S)(B) of the Tax Code and r ~- \ .

• \, ,'· ~ ~ :

' \ ' .·, ...

491

I I

i i

- 3 - this was sustained by the Supreme Court in the case entitled Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs.

Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Corporation and the Court of Tax Appeals, GR No.

66838, December 2 1 1991.

The amount of six million eight hundred thousand pesos (P6 1 800,000.00) overpayment erroneously paid tax was computed as followst DIVIDERDS DECLARED p 10,000,000 46,0001000 ...... ~9. .. t.9..9..9. .. t9..9..9.. r:U:~::!::9::~:9:::!:~~?:~:

201 IIITHBOLDIRG

TAl PAID TO BU p 2,000,000 9,200,000 J..~.t.9..9..9..J.9.9..Q. r::~}::!::~:9::~:!::~:9::~ CORllECT RATE

OF II/TAII 151

p 1,500,000 6,900,000 .. . .!.t&9..9..1..9..9..9. :f::~:9::~::~:~:9:::!:;9::~:9: OVERPAYKERT (51) p 500,000 2,300,000 .. .. ~.&9..9..~._~9.9. :~:~::~:~:~H:!::~~?:,~ or Considering that the two-year prescriptive period as provided by Section 230 (formerly Section 292) of the Tax Code for the purpose of appea 1 ing this case to this court was about to expire without any action yet on the part of the respondent, petitioner filed the instant petition for review on June 17, 1993.

Petit loner in support of its c 1 aim for excess wi thho 1ding tax payments cited the dec is ion of the Supreme Court · in the case · aforec ited which allows the imposition of the 15% tax rate on dividends remitted to the us parent company pursuant 492

- 4 - to Section 25{b)(5){B) of the National Internal Revenue Code.

·Respondent for her part admits and denies certain facts as alleged in the petition for review but when it was her turn to present her evidence; she failed to submit any ev,idence against said claim.

On the' contrary, her counsel alleged that there ~as a favorable recommendation by the Examiner ...

for the grant of the refund. She decided not to file a memorandum inasmuch as she believes that the only issue here is legal and has already been decided by the Supreme Court. Therefore 1 the only issue in this case is whether or not the dividends remitted by petitioner to its parent company is subject to the preferential rate of 15% ~ithholding tax pUrsuant to Section 25 {b){5)(B) (previously Section 24(b)(l)) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended.

The said provision is quoted hereunder for .referencer (B) On dividends received from a domestic corporation liable to tax under this Chapter, the tax shall be 15% of the dl1J4ends ieceived, which shall be ~.:.~_·_,_l __ ;_~ .. ~.ct0 ~f4_·.

~n" paid as provided in Section %11\1('* 1 ~ .. h, ~:)rational :J:p.t:ernal Revenue ): "~.' --~ ..

,.\.~t· .· ··-~ ~ ·:.

•' ,' . 'J .. ·' j .

; .. ~- ~.!.~:: .:

~ .... _-·,:_. .. - 493 easy

- 5 - Code, as amended, subject to the condition that the country in which the nonresident foreign corporation is domiciled shall allow a credit against the tax due from the nonresident foreign corporation, taxes deemed to have been paid in the Philippines equivalent to 20% which represents the difference between the regular tax ( 35%) on corporation and the tax (15%) on dividends as provided in this subparagraph.

We agree with the petitioner that the case is not a case of first impression. In a similar case involving the same parties and the same issues, the Supreme Court affirming the decision of this court in CTA Case .No.

2883, interpreted the provision, as follows: The ordinary thirty-five percent (35%) tax rate applicable to dividend remittances to non-resident corporate stockholders of the Philippine corporation, goes down to fifteen percent (iS%) if the country of domicile of the foreign stockholder. corporation "shall allow" such foreign corporation a tax credit for "taxes deemed paid in the Philippines," applicable against the tax payable to the domiciliary country by the foreign stockholder corporation. In other words 1 in the instant case 1 the reduced fifteen percent (15%) dividend tax rate is applicable if the UsA "shall allow" to ~ P&G-USA a tax credit for "taxes deemed paid in the Philippines" applicable against the US taxes of P&G-USA. The NIRC ~- p~~ ... ifies J;.JJ_""_:f.~.

r;;u. c_~·:.-~~~s~'~·t:t~' J_.9!··_ ... ",taxes P.f!'f!l~d pa ~4--.~J:l, t.h~.-~~~~f ~-.t~t. -~~~,~-:. ~!'~~~-• .- "s . a ~~;~~;~ 1 , ,,a.fp~. p::~,~~~~;;~~ -~:~l~E.i?.\~!~'lfii J~~~~~~~.,l~<,. :~~- ~~:i ~rHf! . .-~~n~;~-. ··· ~~~~"~n . the ·~; ."::::.:~_ ~~ :·~·\'~.' .·,:"+·,~--~-~ ?;_.+;.-~.( ··'· .. :t_;_-:~ ... :·. . ./ ... ·..

:~---~--~" .... :~-.~~-~ .. <.I~- .- "· ·- ~ ,._ . ·.

··< .. ~-: :Ji.· ..

, .,_ '. ~;

• •"' • • ~. , ,}-~ o !~ ··I· '" ; ,)~;.of ~- 494 above •

- 6 - regular· thirty-five percent {35%) dividend tax rate and the preferred fifteen percent {15%) dividend tax rate. It is important to note that Section 24{b) {1), NIRC, does not require that the US must give a '1deemed paid'' tax 'credit for the dividend tax '{20 percentage points) waived by the Philippines in making applicable the preferred dividend tax rate of fifteen percent { 15%).

In other words 1 our NIRC does not require that the US tax law deem the parent-corporation to have paid the twenty {20) percentage points of dividend tax waived by the Philippines. The NIRC only requires that the US "shall allow" P&G-USA as "deemed paid" tax credit in an amount equivalent to the twenty {20) percentage points waived by the Philippines.

XXX XXX· XXX With respect to taxes on income, the Philippines, by a treaty commitment, reduced the regular rate of dividend tax to a· maximum of twenty percent· {20%) of the gross amount of dividends paid to US parent corporation.

xxx The Tax Convention at the ·same time, established a treaty obligation on the part of the United States that it "shall allow" to a US parent corporation receiving dividends from its Philippine subsidiary "a [tax] credit for the appropriate amount of taxes paid or accrued t·o the Phi 1 ippines by the Philippine [subsidiary].

This is, of course 1 precisely the "deemed paid" tax credit prdvided for in'section 902t US Tax ~~~- . ::.~.··.·,~.·. ·4l.,.,.f7.lf_,, · ~.~e.re. i~ ~~f.·~,,g~,.~ .t. he part pfi ~~'-"''-· . ,'lfJt.~lJppJttefi·· ··•·· deliberate ttL~~•tt•JU·ri · ..

~o r·filduii'e · k~e . tiJ ··· ·' 41' di v tdend ~~~~:: . t-4~.--.. "''Rf. th~j~f~.4l~ .. : ~Plt.''~~·n.t · t. ~~~>. ~ flP~ . bi1WAV.~t, tttf' .. t:i:'~ih•f .... ,.., pf t:~,Spty ~ ~ f~l~ ~ .·· 'l ~p~~ t ~ t ~ :~~~t\'~~{ij#~ P tij~~··<:4~~tt~n! ~ ¥~4~~ttf~, .~r tfy~· j~): rrr"~~~ta~~"roints •'' '.

495 DECISIO:M

- 7 - which compliance of US law (Section 902) with .the requirements of Section 24(b)(l), NIRC, makes available in respect of dividends from a Philippine subsidiary. The applicability of the above jurisprudence is without doubt and entitles the petitioner to the refund of the five (5%) per centum excess payments of withholding tax on dividends it remitted to its parent company.

WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, respondent is hereby ordered to refund or issue a tax credit certificate in the amount of six million eight hundred thousand (P6,800,000.00) pesos to the petitioner representing the overpaid withholding tax on dividends remitted to its parent company, Procter & Gamble Co., USA.

No pronouncement as to cost.