GENERAL PRINCIPLES

DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF TAXATION

 In order to raise revenue for the repair and maintenance of the newly constructed City Hall of Makati, the City Mayor ordered the
collection of P1.00, called “elevator tax”, every time a person rides any of the high-tech elevators in the City Hall during the hours of
8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm. Is the elevator tax a valid imposition?
- No. The imposition of a tax, fee or charge or the generation of revenue under the Local Government Code, shall be exercised by the
Sanggunian of the local government unit concerned through an appropriate ordinance [Sec. 132, LGC]. The city mayor alone could
not order the collection of the tax; as such, the “elevator tax” is an invalid imposition.

 Discuss the Marshall dictum “The power to tax is the power to destroy” in the Philippine setting.
- The power to tax includes the power to destroy. Taxation is a destructive power which interferes with the personal and property
rights of the people and takes from them a portion of their property for the support of the government.
Note: It is more reasonable to say that the maxim “the power to tax is the power to destroy” is to describe not the purposes for which the
taxing power may be used but the degree of vigor with which the taxing power may be employed in order to raise revenue.