BIR Ruling No. 055-65

May 24, 1965 BIR RULING NO. 055-65 Mr. Benjamin A. Atienza Odiongan, Romblon S i r : Reference is made to your letter of January 4, 1965 requesting information as to whether or not the cost of the construction of a chapel by your client in his farm, for the exclusive use and benefit of his tenants and workers, may be deducted from his gross income, either as an expense or a reasonable allowance for depreciation. cdtech In reply thereto, I have the honor to inform you that the aforementioned cost of construction cannot be deducted as an expense because the same is personal. Neither can the same be amortized as a depreciation because only property used in a trade or business (Section 30(f)(1), Tax Code), or property held for the production of income, (Cooper vs. Comm., 264 F(2d) 899), can be depreciated, for income tax purposes. As the chapel is obviously not used in a trade or business, nor is it held for the production of income, the conclusion is inevitable that the same does not constitute a depreciable property within the meaning of the Tax Code. In view of the foregoing, this Office is of the opinion and so holds that the cost of the construction of the chapel averred to in your letter is not deductible from the gross income of your client, either as an expense or as an allowance for depreciation. cd Very truly yours, (SGD.) BENJAMIN N. TABIOS Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue