FACT

In April 1947 the Collector of Internal Revenue required Mr. Justice Gregorio Perfecto
to pay income tax upon his salary as member of the Court during the year 1946. After
paying the amount, he instituted an action in Manila Court of First Instance
contending that the assessment was illegal, his salary not being taxable for the reason
that imposition of taxes thereon would reduce it in violation of the Constitution. It
provides in its Article VIII, Section 9 that the members of the Supreme Court and all
judges of inferior courts “shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by law,
which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

ISSUE
Whether or not the imposition of an income tax upon this salary in 1946 amount to a
diminution.

HELD
Yes, the imposition of the income tax upon the salary of Justice Perfecto amount to a
diminution thereof. The prohibition is general, contains no excepting words, and
appears to be directed against all diminution, whether for one purpose or another.
The fathers of the Constitution intended to prohibit diminution by taxation as well as
otherwise, that they regarded the independence of the judges as of far greater
importance than any revenue that could come from taxing their salaries. Thus, taxing
the salary of a judge as a part of his income is a violation of the Constitution.