10% Hotel Room Occupancy Tax

May 14, 1980 BIR RULING NO. 059-80 2nd Indorsement Respectfully returned to the Honorable, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manila, Attn.: The Director General for Protocol, the within Tax Exemption issued by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines covering taxes of hotel rooms occupied by U.S. Foreign Inspectors. cdt Under Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations adopted on April 18, 1961, diplomatic agents shall be exempt from all dues and taxes, personal or real, national, regional or municipal, except : (a) indirect taxes of a kind which are normally incorporated in the price of goods or services; (b) dues and taxes on private immovable property situated in the territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the sending State for the purposes of the mission; (c) estate, succession or inheritance duties levied by the receiving State, subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 39; (d) dues and taxes on private income having its source in the receiving State and capital taxes on investments made in commercial undertakings in the receiving State; (e) charges levied for specific services rendered; (f) registration, court or record fees, mortgage dues and stamp duty, with respect to immovable property, subject to the provisions of Article 23. It is clear from the foregoing that the tax exemptions of diplomatic representatives do not include, among others, exemption from excise taxes such as the 10% hotel room occupancy tax. Accordingly, no exemption from the payment of the said 10% tax prescribed by Section 205-A of the Tax Code, as amended, can be extended to the U.S. Foreign Inspectors. cdta EFREN I. PLANA Acting Commissioner