By Perfecto Raymundo
MANILA, (PNA) — The Supreme Court has allowed its Fiscal Management and Budget Office to deduct taxes on the special allowances of the members of the Judiciary.
This was contained in an internal en banc resolution signed by Clerk of Court Atty. Enriqueta E. Vidal.
The SC authorizes the FMBO “to deduct the corresponding tax due on the Special Allowance for the Judiciary (SAJ) and the Judiciary Development Additional Cost of Living Allowance (JDF COLA) received from January to June 2013 from the SAJ and JDF COLA, respectively, of the members of the court, on a monthly basis in equal amounts for a period of one (1) year[.]”
The resolution was triggered by the letter of authority sent by the Bureau of Internal Revenue asking the SC “to examine [its] books of account and other accounting records.”
Rather than allowing BIR in scrutinizing its books of account, the SC led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. Aranal Sereno decided just to allow itself to be taxed with its allowances.
In response to the letter, the FMBO issued a memorandum dated June 27, 2013 informing the SC about the BIR’s request.
Prior to this, SAJ and JDF COLA had not been subjected to taxes.
In the resolution, the SC also allowed FMBO “to deduct the corresponding tax due on the fringe benefits received from January to June 2013 from the additional fringe benefits on a staggered basis in equal amounts for a period of six (6) months; provided that, if the amount of fringe benefits authorized during the six-month period of collection is not sufficient to cover the amount of tax due for the first semester, the deficiency may be charged against fringe benefits that may be granted thereafter.”