Transfer of Land for Shares of Stocks Exempt from Capital Gains Tax

May 3, 1993 BIR RULING NO. 179-93 TRANSFER OF LAND FOR SHARES OF STOCKS EXEMPT FROM CAPITAL GAINS TAX 34 (c) (2) (C) 109-93 179-93 Acosta, Pinto & Domondon Law Offices Suite 304, FHL Building 102 Aguirre Street Legaspi Village, Makati Metro Manila Attention: Atty . Ma . Theresa L . Acosta-Pinto This refers to your letter dated March 16, 1993, requesting in effect, confirmation of your opinion that the transfer of properties by your clients, Steve Santos, Soler Santos, Sarah Santos-Ruiz & Simon Santos, in favor of Westside Development Enterprises, Inc., in exchange for its shares of stock in accordance with Revenue Memorandum Order No. 26-92, falls under Section 34(c)(2)(c) of the Tax Code, as amended. casia It is represented that Westside Development Enterprises, Inc. is a domestic corporation duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); that it has an authorized capital stock of P4,000,000.00 divided into 40,000 shares with a par value of P100.00 per share, which subscribed and paid as follows: Stockholder Amt. Subscribed Amt. Paid Steve S. Santos P250,000.00 P62,500.00 Simon S. Santos 250,000.00 62,500.00 Sarah S. Ruiz 250,000.00 62,500.00 Soler S. Santos 249,900.00 62,400.00 Melvyn S. Martin 100.00 100.00 Total P1,000,000.00 P250,000.00 =========== ========= that Steve Santos, Soler Santos, Sarah Santos-Ruiz & Simon Santos are the absolute and registered owners of the following properties: STEVE SANTOS: A parcel of land with the improvements thereon with an area of 834.70 square meters, situated in Roxas District, Quezon City, and covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 363082, issued by the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City: Four (4) parcels of land and the improvements thereon with a total area of 851 square meters, all situated in the Municipality of Makati, and covered by Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 148460, 148461, 148462 and 148463, issued by the Registry of Deeds of Makati; SOLER SANTOS: Four (4) parcels of land and the improvements thereon with a total area of 851 square meters, all situated in the Municipality of Makati, and covered by Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 148460, 148461, 148462 & 148453 issued by the Registry of Deeds of Makati; SARAH SANTOS-RUIZ: Five (5) parcels of land and the improvements thereon with a total area of 2,608.70 square meters, all situated in Quezon City, and covered by Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 363247, 363248, 363249, 363259 and 363251 issued by the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City; SIMON SANTOS: A parcel of land with the improvements thereon with an area of 835.50 square meters, situated in West Avenue, Quezon City, and covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 363053 issued by the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City. that on March 16, 1993, Steve Santos, Soler Santos, Sarah Santos-Ruiz and Simon Santos executed their respective Deeds of Assignment of their abovementioned properties in favor of Westside Development Enterprises, Inc., in exchange for its additional shares of stock and as full payment of their respective unpaid subscriptions, as follows: (1) Steve Santos: subscribed additional shares worth P645,500.00 and paid his above unpaid subscriptions in the amount of P187,500.00, or the total amount of P833,000.00; (2) Soler Santos: subscribed additional shares worth P750,000.00 and paid his above unpaid subscriptions in the amount of P187,500.00, or the total amount of P1,072,000.00; (3) Sarah Santos-Ruiz: subscribed additional shares worth P750,000.00 and paid her above unpaid subscriptions in the amount of P187,500.00, or the total amount of P937,500.00; (4) Simon Santos: subscribed additional shares worth P720,000.00 and paid his above unpaid subscriptions in the amount of P187,500.00, or the total amount of P907,500.00; that as a result of the above transaction, the transferors gained control of the corporation, by owning 99.99% of the subscribed capital stock of the corporation, as follows: Stockholder Amt. Subscribed Amt. Paid Steve S. Santos P895,500.00 P895,500.00 Simon S. Santos 970,000.00 970,000.00 Sarah S. Ruiz 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 Soler S. Santos 1,134,900.00 1,134,400.00 Melvyn S. Martin 100.00 100.00 Total P4,000,000.00 P4,000,000.00 =========== =========== that in support of your request, you submitted to this Office photocopies of the following documents: (a) deed of assignment; (b) articles of incorporation duly registered with the SEC of the transferee corporation; (c) copies of the transfer certificate of title and the corresponding tax declaration; (d) certification as to the original or historical cost of acquisition/adjusted cost basis of the properties transferred; (e) certification by the corporate secretary of the transferee corporation of its authorized capitalization and the par value of the shares of stock; (f) certification of percentage of ownership of the shares of stock by the transferor as a result of the transaction; and (g) other pertinent documents. 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 of ownership, only those persons who transferred property for stocks in the same transaction may be counted up to a maximum of five. Accordingly, your opinion that no gain or loss shall be recognized both to the transferors and the transferee corporation on the transfer by Steve Santos, Soler Santos, Sarah Santos-Ruiz and Simon Santos of their respective properties together with the improvements thereon in exchange for shares of stock of the transferee corporation, Westside Development Enterprises, Inc., considering that as a consequence of each of said exchanges, the transferors gained control of the transferee corporation, is hereby confirmed. 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 transaction, 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 transferors later sell or exchange the shares of stock acquired by them in the exchange, they shall be subject to income tax on 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 transferors of the properties exchanged therefor; and that the cost basis to the transferee of the properties exchanged for stocks shall be the same as it would be in the hands of the transferors (Section 34(c) (5) (a) and (b) of the Tax Code, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1773). 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 transferors must file with their income tax return for the taxable year in which the exchange transaction was consummated, a complete statement of all facts pertinent to the exchange, including: 1. A description of the properties transferred, or of their interest in such properties, together with a statement of the original acquisition cost/adjusted cost basis or other basis thereof at the time of the transfer; 2. The kind of stocks 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 at 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 the following: 1. A complete description of all properties received from the transferors; 2. A statement of the original acquisition cost or other basis of the properties in the hands of the transferors 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 and 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 transferors in the exchange; and c. The fair market value as of the date of the exchange of the capital stock issued to the transferors. In addition to the foregoing requirements, permanent records in substantial form must be kept by the taxpayers 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 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 a 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 Assignment executed to effect the aforesaid transfer (BIR Ruling No. 245-00-000-00-109-82 dated April 06, 1982). The value shall be the fair market value which shall not be less than the par value of the stocks. cd i Finally, the certificate of stocks to be issued by Westside Development Enterprises, Inc., 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 real properties may be registered by the Register of Deeds concerned in the name of the transferee corporation, Westside Development Enterprises, Inc. 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 and void. VICTOR A. DEOFERIO, JR. Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue