BRIEF HISTORY OF TAXATION IN THE PHILLIPINES

It all started from the Ancient Filipinos, where they pay their taxes to their Datu or the
Chiefs for the protection they gave to them, the tax was termed buwis. Everyone is required to
pay their taxes, except for the Datu/Chieftain’s household. Punishment for not paying taxes was
also implemented on this period.
The arrival or invasion of the Spanish People from 1521 to 1898 gave the Filipinos
modern concepts of taxation, wherein 16 years old to 60 years old were forced to pay tributes
or tributo to the King of Spain through the Colonial Government worth 8 reales or 1 peso per
year, but there are also other forms of payment like gold, chickens, textile, rice and forced labor
or Polo Y Servicio.
   In 1884, the tribute was abolished and was replaced by the cedula or sedula, a certificate
identifying the tax payer that needs to be carried all the time. If someone is not able to present
their cedula to a guardia civil they will be imprisoned for being “indocumentado”, which means
that they lack valid document or legal personal identification necessary to prove their identity.
It was followed by the 1987 Philippine Constitution, stating that it “sets limitations on the
exercise of the power to tax. The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The congress
shall evolve a progressive system of taxation”, wherein the Philippines covers both national and
local. National Taxes refer to national internal revenue taxes imposed and collected by the
national government through the BIR or Bureau of Internal Revenue, while the Local Taxes is
those imposed and collected by the local government.
Lately the current President of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte, implemented
the TRAIN Law or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion which was signed last January
01, 2018, which seeks to correct a number of deficiencies in the tax system to make it simpler,
fairer, and more efficient. Wherein the rich will have a bigger contribution and the poor will
benefit more from the government’s program and services.