BIR Ruling

August 27, 1970 Mrs. Geronima T. Pecson Chairman, Organizing Committee XVth International Conference On Social Welfare Manila Hotel Manila M a d a m : This refers to your letter dated July 31, 1970 stating, among others, that the XVth International Conference on Social Welfare and related meetings will be held in Manila from August 26 to September 12, 1970; that some 3,000 persons from 75 countries will attend the conference; and that the conference will be held at the Manila Hotel, Manila Hilton and Filipinas Hotel. Under the foregoing facts, you would like to request exemption from the payment of the percentage tax that may otherwise be collected from or charged to you by the aforecited hotels as an incident of their charges for the use of their rooms and facilities. In reply, I have the honor to inform you that your request cannot be granted for lack of legal basis. The Organizing Committee of the XVth International Conference on Social Welfare cannot claim exemption from the 3% tax to be levied on the hotel operators in accordance with Section 191 of the Tax Code, as amended for the reason that the same is a tax directly payable by the hotel operators. The fact that the tax may ultimately be shifted to or passed on to the Organizing Committee will not constitute the 3% tax payable by Hotel operators as a tax on the said Committee which foots the bill. (BIR Ruling No. 68-014, dated August 21, 1968). Very truly yours, MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue