The Court of Tax Appeals has invalidated a decision of the city government of Taguig to confiscate and auction off the 50-hectare property of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines in Western Bicutan due to alleged non-payment of real property tax amounting to P99 million from 1989 to 1999.
Taguig City's action was declared "null and void" by the CTA Third Division through a resolution that was affirmed by the court en banc recently.
The tax court ruled that the VFP is exempt from any local and national tax including from the collection of real property taxes under Republic Acts 2640 and 7291.
Court records showed the Pasig Regional Trial Court earlier nullified the local government's confiscation of the said land. The CTA division upheld that ruling by the Pasig court.
In a 25-page resolution, the CTA, sitting as a full court, rejected the claim of the Taguig LGU that it was imposing real property taxes on certain areas of the the VFP property which it had rented to various private business enterprises.
Penned by Associate Justice Lanee S. Cui-David, the CTA decision said the land is owned by the national government and administered only by the VFP.
It stressed the VFP is a government instrumentality and exempt from the payment of real property tax.
The CTA cited Section 133 of the Local Government Code exempting the national government, it's agencies and instrumentalities from taxation.
The Veterans Center was set up under Proclamation 192 to serve as headquarters of various veteran's organizations for their related activities.
