No Gain or Loss Shall be Recognized Both to the Transferor and the Transferee Corporations on the Transfer of an Office Building and the Rights to the Land Where the Building is Located in Exchange for Shares of Stock

June 5, 1991 BIR RULING NO. 100-91 34 (c) (2) (c) 136-90 100-91 Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated February 19, 1991 requesting confirmation of your opinion to the effect that no gain or loss shall be recognized on the transfer by Citibank, N.A. of an office building and the rights to the land where the building is located to Citi Center in exchange for 100% of Citi Center's shares of stock. cdtech It is represented that Citi Center is a domestic corporation incorporated on January 25, 1991 under SEC Registration No. 186166 for the purpose of owning, holding, using, developing, managing, operating, selling, and otherwise dealing in buildings, condominiums and other similar structures; that it has an authorized capital stock of 600,000 shares with a total par value of P60,000,000 of which P50,202,600 has been subscribed and fully paid for by Citibank N.A. and its nominees by means of a Deed of Exchange involving the aforementioned real property. In reply thereto, I have the honor to inform you that pursuant to Section 34, paragraph (c) (2) (c) of the Tax Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 4522 and P.D. Nos. 1705 and 1773, no gain or loss shall be recognized if property is transferred to a corporation by a person, in exchange for stock in such a corporation of which as a result of such exchange, said person, alone or together with others, not exceeding four persons, gains control of said corporation. The term "control" shall mean ownership of stocks in a corporation possessing at least 51% of the total voting power of all classes of stocks entitled to vote. Control is determined by the amount of stocks received i.e., total subscribed, whether for property or for services by the transferor or transferors. In determining the 51% stock ownership, only those persons who transferred property for stocks in the same transaction may be counted up to a maximum of five. Accordingly, no gain or loss shall be recognized both to the transferor and the transferee corporations on the transfer by Citibank, N.A. of an office building and the rights to the land where the building is located in exchange for shares of stock of Citi Center considering that after the exchange of properties and as a result of the exchange, the transferor will gain control of the transferee corporation. It should be emphasized, however, that Section 34 (c) (2) (c) of the Tax Code merely defers recognition of the gain or loss from such transactions, for in determining the gain or loss from a subsequent transaction of the properties or of the stocks involved in the exchange, the original or historical cost of the properties or stocks is considered. Thus, if the transferor later sells or exchanges the shares of stocks acquired by it in the exchange, it shall be subject to income tax or gains derived from such sale or exchange, taking into consideration that the cost basis of the shares shall be the same as the original acquisition cost or adjusted cost basis to the transferor of the properties exchanged therefor; and that the cost basis to the transferee of the properties exchanged for stock shall be the same as it would be in the hands of the transferor. [Section 34 (c) (5) (a) and (b) of the Tax Code, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1773] cdta In this connection, you are further advised that in order that the parties to the exchange can avail of the non-recognition of gains provided for in Section 34 (c) (2) (c) of the Tax Code, as amended, they should comply with the requirements hereunder mentioned: a. The transferor must file with its income tax return for the taxable year in which the exchange was consummated, a complete statement of all facts pertinent to the exchange, including: 1. A description of the properties transferred or of its interest in such properties, with a statement of the original acquisition cost or other basic thereof and the adjusted cost basis at the time of the transfer; 2. The kind of stock received and preferences, if any; 3. The number of shares of each class received, and 4. The fair market value per share of each class and the date of the exchange. b. On the other hand, the transferee corporation must file with its income tax return for the taxable year in which the exchange was consummated to the following: 1. A complete description of all properties received from the transferor; 2. A statement of the original acquisition cost or other basis of the properties in the hands of the transferor and the adjusted cost basis thereof at the time of the transfer; and 3. Information with respect to the capital stock of the corporation including: a. The total issued and outstanding capital stock immediately prior to the immediately after the exchange with a complete description of each class of stock; b. The classes of stocks and number of shares issued to the transferor in the exchange; and c. The fair market value as of the date of the exchange of the capital stock issued to the transferor. In addition to the foregoing requirements, permanent records in substantial form must be kept by the taxpayer's participating in the exchange, showing the information listed above in order to facilitate the determination of gain or loss from a subsequent disposition of stocks/properties received in the exchange. The parties shall also cause to be annotated on the Transfer Certificate of Titles and at the back of the Certificate of Stocks, the date of the deed of exchange was executed, the original or historical cost of acquisition of the properties or shares of stock involved, and the fact that no gain or loss was recognized as a result of such exchange. Moreover, pursuant to Section 196 of the Tax Code, as amended, a conveyance or deed whereby land is assigned or transferred to the purchaser is subject to documentary stamp tax based on the consideration or value received or contracted to be paid for such realty. A stock in corporation is a valuable consideration for transfer of real property. (Section 177, Documentary Stamp Tax Regulations) Accordingly, if a parcel of land, is exchanged with stocks in a corporation as in this case, the latter is the consideration, the value of which shall be the basis of the documentary stamp tax on the deed of the assignment executed to effect the aforesaid transfer. (BIR Ruling No. 245-00-000-00-109-82 dated April 6, 1982) The value shall be the fair market value which shall not be less than the par value of the stocks. Furthermore, under Section 248 (d) in relation to Section 173 of the Tax Code as amended by Executive Order No. 273, in case of failure to affix the proper documentary stamps to a document or instrument, there shall, for every violation, be imposed, in addition to the amount of documentary stamp tax required to be paid, an amount equivalent to twenty-five percent (25%) of such unpaid amount which shall be in lieu of the interest prescribed in Section 249 of the same Code. Finally, the certificate of stocks to be issued by Citi Center are, in all probability original issues, which are subject to the documentary stamp tax imposed by Section 175 of the Tax Code, as amended. After payment of the corresponding documentary stamp tax, the aforesaid real properties may be registered by the Register of Deeds concerned in the name of the transferee corporation, Citi Center. cdti This ruling is being issued on the basis of the foregoing facts as represented. However, if upon investigation, it will be disclosed that the facts are different, and/or any of the requirements imposed in this letter are not complied with, then this ruling shall be considered null or void. Very truly yours, (SGD.) JOSE U. ONG Commissioner