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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 where 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.