3 Vidal

The appellants question the power of the Legislature to impose taxes on the transmission of real estate that takes effect immediately and during the lifetime of the donor, and allege as their reason that such tax partakes of the nature of the land tax which the law has already created in another part of the Administrative Code. Without making express pronouncement on this question, for it is unnecessary, we wish to state that such is not the case in these instance. The tax collected by the appellee on the properties donated in 1925 really constitutes an inheritance tax imposed on the transmission of said properties in contemplation or in consideration of the donor's death and under the circumstance that the donees were later instituted as the former's legatees. For this reason, the law considers such transmissions in the form of gifts inter vivos, as advances on inheritance and nothing therein violates any constitutional provision, inasmuch as said legislation is within the power of the Legislature.

4 Dizon 5 Estate of Hilario

The estate tax is one of those obligations that must be paid before distribution of the estate. If not yet paid, the rule requires that the distributees post a bond or make such provisions as to meet the said tax obligation in proportion to their respective shares in the inheritance. 12 De la Vina v Coll The mere fact, therefore, that the income tax claimed by the Collector of Internal Revenue had been imposed upon the profits obtained by the administrator of the estate in the sale of certain properties of the deceased Diego de la Via, after the latter's death, does not make the said tax a necessary expense of administration, unless the administrator had paid it either from his own pocket or out of the funds of the estate: in the first case the tax paid is converted into an expense of administration which the administrator may fully recover, plus his commission; in the second case, he may only collect his commission, which partakes of the nature of an expense of administration. 21 Lladoc Section 22 (3), Art. VI of the Constitution of the Philippines, exempts from taxation cemeteries, churches and parsonages or convents, appurtenant thereto, and all lands, buildings, and improvements used exclusively for religious purposes. The exemption is only from the payment of taxes assessed on such properties enumerated, as property taxes, as contra distinguished from excise taxes. In the present case, what the Collector assessed was a donee's gift tax; the assessment was not on the properties themselves. It did not rest upon general ownership; it was an excise upon the use made of the properties, upon the exercise of the privilege of receiving the properties (Phipps vs. Com. of Int. Rec. 91 F 2d 627). Manifestly, gift tax is not within the exempting provisions of the section just mentioned. A gift tax is not a property tax, but an excise tax imposed on the transfer of property by way of giftinter vivos, the imposition of which on property used exclusively for religious purposes, does not constitute an impairment of the Constitution. As well observed by the learned respondent Court, the phrase "exempt from taxation," as employed in the Constitution (supra) should not be interpreted to mean exemption from all kinds of taxes. And there being no clear, positive or express grant of such privilege by law, in favor of petitioner, the exemption herein must be denied. 24 Roces v Posadas

The gifts referred to in section 1540 of the Revised Administration Code are, obviously, those donations inter vivos that take effect immediately or during the lifetime of the donor but are made in consideration or in contemplation of death. Gifts inter vivos, the transmission of which is not made in contemplation of the donor's death should not be understood as included within the said legal provision for the reason that it would amount to imposing a direct tax on property and not on the transmission thereof, which act does not come within the scope of the provisions contained in Article XI of Chapter 40 of the Administrative Code which deals expressly with the tax on inheritances, legacies and other acquisitions mortis causa. 25 Pirovano The argument for petitioners-appellants fails to take into account the fact that neither in Spanish nor in Anglo-American law was it considered that past services, rendered without relying on a coetaneous promise, express or implied, that such services would be paid for in the future, constituted cause or consideration that would make a conveyance of property anything else but a gift or donation. The fact that his services contributed in a large measure to the success of the company did not give rise to a recoverable debt, and the conveyances made by the company to his heirs remain a gift or donation. This is emphasized by the directors' Resolution of January 6, 1947, that "out of gratitude" the company decided to renounce in favor of Pirovano's heirs the proceeds of the life insurance policies in question. The true consideration for the donation was, therefore, the company's gratitude for his services, and not the services themselves.