TAXATION BAR EXAMS 2013 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQ)

TAXATION BAR EXAMS 2013 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQ)
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[Below are the Multiple Choice Questions asked in the 2013 Bar Exams in Taxation]
1. ABC Corp. was dissolved and liquidating dividends were declared and paid to the stockholders.
What tax consequence follows? (1%)

(A) ABC Corp. should deduct a final tax of 10% from the dividends.

(B) The stockholders should declare their gain from their investment and pay income tax at the ordinary rates.

(D) ABC Corp. should withhold a 10% creditable tax.

2. MGC Corp. secured an income tax holiday for 5 years as a pioneer industry. On the fourth year of the tax holiday, MGC Corp. declared and paid cash dividends to its stockholders, all of whom are individuals.
Are the dividends taxable? (1%)

(A) The dividends are taxable; the tax exemption of MGC Corp. does not extend to its stockholders.

(B) The dividends are tax exempt because of MGC Corp.’s income tax holiday.

(D) The dividends are exempt if paid before the end of MGC Corp.’s fiscal year.

3. Mr. Alas sells shoes in Makati through a retail store. He pays the VAT on his gross sales to the BIR and the municipal license tax based on the same gross sales to the City of Makati. He comes to you for advice because he thinks he is being subjected to double taxation.
What advice will you give him? (1%)

(A) Yes, there is double taxation and it is oppressive.

(B) The City of Makati does not have this power.

(D) Double taxation is allowed where one tax is imposed by the national government and the other by the local government.

4. Congress passed a sin tax law that increased the tax rates on cigarettes by 1,000%. The law was thought to be sufficient to drive many cigarette companies out of business, and was questioned in court by a cigarette company that would go out of business because it would not be able to pay the increased tax.
The cigarette company is __________ (1%)

(A) wrong because taxes are the lifeblood of the government

(B) wrong because the law recognizes that the power to tax is the power to destroy

(D) correct because Congress, in this case, exceeded its power to tax

5. Mr. Alvarez is in the retail business. He received a deficiency tax assessment from the BIR containing only the computation of the deficiency tax and the penalties, without any explanation of the factual and legal bases for the assessment.
Is the assessment valid? (1%)

(A) The assessment is valid; all that Mr. Alvarez has to know is the amount of the tax.

(B) The assessment is invalid; the law requires a statement of the facts and the law upon which the assessment is based.

(D) The assessment is invalid because Mr. Alvarez has no way to determine if the computation is erroneous.

6. In 2010, Mr. Platon sent his sister Helen $1 ,000 via a telegraphic transfer through the Bank of PI. The bank’s remittance clerk made a mistake and credited Helen with $1,000,000 which she promptly withdrew. The bank demanded the return of the mistakenly credited excess, but Helen refused. The BIR entered the picture and investigated Helen.
Would the BIR be correct if it determines that Helen earned taxable income under these facts? (1%)

(A) No, she had no income because she had no right to the mistakenly credited funds.

(B) Yes, income is income regardless of the source.

(D) No, the funds in excess of$1,000 were in effect donated to her.

7. The municipality of San Isidro passed an ordinance imposing a tax on installation managers. At that time, there was only one installation manager in the municipality; thus, only he would be liable for the tax.
Is the law constitutional? (1%)

(A) It is unconstitutional because it clearly discriminates against this person.

(B) It is unconstitutional for lack of legal basis.

(D) It is constitutional because the power to tax is the power to destroy.

8. XYZ Corporation manufactures glass panels and is almost at the point of insolvency. It has no more cash and all it has are unsold glass panels. It received an assessment from the BIR for deficiency income taxes. It wants to pay but due to lack of cash, it seeks permission to pay in kind with glass panels.
Should the BIR grant the requested permission? (1%)

(A) It should grant permission to make payment convenient to taxpayers.

(B) It should not grant permission because a tax is generally a pecuniary burden.

(D) It should not grant permission because the government does not have the storage facilities for glass panels.

9. Prior to the VAT law, sales of cars were subject to a sales tax but the tax applied only to the original or the first sale; the second and subsequent sales were not subject to tax.
Deltoid Motors, Inc. (Deltoid) hit on the idea of setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Gonmad Motors, Inc. (Gonmad), and of selling its assembled cars to Gonmad at a low price so it would pay a lower tax on the first sale. Gonmad would then sell the cars to the public at a higher price without paying any sales tax on this subsequent sale.
Characterize the arrangement. (1%)

A. The plan is a legitimate exercise of tax planning and merely takes advantage of a loophole in the law.

B. The plan is legal because the government collects taxes anyway.

C. The plan is improper; the veil of corporate fiction can be pierced so that the second sale will be considered the taxable sale.

D. The government must respect Gonmad’s separate juridical personality and Deltoid’s taxable sale to it.

10. PRT Corp. purchased a residential house and lot with a swimming pool in an upscale subdivision and required the company president to stay there without paying rent; it reasoned out that the company president must maintain a certain image and be able to entertain guests at the house to promote the company’s business. The company president declared that because they are childless, he and his wife could very well live in a smaller house.
Was there a taxable fringe benefit? (1%)

(A) There was no taxable fringe benefit since it was for the convenience of the employer and was necessary for its business.

(B) There was a taxable fringe benefit since the stay at the house was for free.

(D) There was no taxable fringe benefit because the company president was only required to stay there and did not demand free housing.

11. Taxpayer A was required by the BIR to sign and submit a waiver of the statute of limitations on the assessment period, to give the BIR more time to complete its investigation. The BIR accepted the waiver but failed to indicate the date of its acceptance.
What is the legal status of the waiver? (1%)

(A) The waiver is valid because the date of acceptance is immaterial and unimportant.

(B) The waiver is invalid; the taxpayer cannot be required to waive the statute of limitations.

(C) The waiver is invalid; the date of acceptance is crucial in counting the start of the period of suspension of the prescriptive period.

(D) The waiver is valid, having been accepted by the BIR.

12. Taxpayer Andy received on January 3, 2010 a preliminary assessment notice (PAN) from the BIR, stating that he had fifteen (15) days from its receipt to comment or to file a protest. Eight (8) days later (or on January11, 2010), before he could comment or file a protest, Andy received the final assessment notice (FAN).
Decide on the validity of the FAN. (1%)

(A) The FAN is invalid; Andy was not given the chance to respond to the PAN, in violation of his due process rights.

(B) The FAN is invalid for being premature.

(D) The FAN is valid. There is no legal requirement that the FAN should await the protest to the PAN because protest to the PAN is not mandatory.

13. MSI Corp. imports orange and lemon concentrates as raw materials for the fruit drinks it sells locally. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) imposed a 1% duty rate on the concentrates. Subsequently, the BOC changed its position and held that the concentrates should be taxed at 7% duty rate. MSI disagreed with the ruling and questioned it in the CTA which upheld MSI’s position. The Commissioner of Customs appealed to the CTA en bane without filing a motion for reconsideration.
Resolve the appeal. (1%)

(A) The appeal should be dismissed because a motion for reconsideration is mandatory.

(B) The appeal should be dismissed for having been filed out of time.

(D) The appeal should be upheld to be fair to the government which needs taxes.

14. The spouses Jun and Elvira Sandoval purchased a piece of land for P5,000,000 and included their two (2) minor children as co-purchasers in the Deed of Absolute Sale. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) ruled that there was an implied donation and assessed donors’ taxes against the spouses.
Rule on the CIR’s action. (1%)

(A) The CIR is wrong; a donation must be express.

(B) The CIR is wrong; financial capacity is not a requirement for a valid sale.

(D) The CIR is correct; there was animus donandi since the children had no financial capacity to be co-purchasers.

15. Pheleco is a power generation and distribution company operating mainly from the City of Taguig. It owns electric poles which it also rents out to other companies that use poles such as telephone and cable companies. Taguig passed an ordinance imposing a fee equivalent to 1% of the annual rental for these poles. Pheleco questioned ‘the legality of the ordinance on the ground that it imposes an income tax which local government units (LGUs) are prohibited from imposing.
Rule on the validity of the ordinance. (1%)

(A) The ordinance is void; the fee is based on rental income and is therefore a tax on income.

(B) The ordinance is valid as a legitimate exercise of police power to regulate electric poles.

(D) The ordinance is valid; an LGU may impose a tax on income.

16. Aleta sued Boboy for breach of promise to marry. Boboy lost the case and duly paid the court’s award that included, among others, Pl00,000 as moral damages for the mental anguish Aleta suffered.
Did Aleta earn a taxable income? (1%)

(A) She had a taxable income of P100,000 since income is income from whatever source.

(B) She had no taxable income because it was a donation.

(D) She had no taxable income since moral damages are compensatory.

17. Mr. Mayuga donated his residential house and lot to his son and duly paid the donor’s tax. In the Deed of Donation, Mr. Mayuga expressly reserved for himself the usufruct over the property for as long as he lived.
Describe the donated property from the taxation perspective. (1%)

(A) The property will form part of Mr. Mayuga’s gross estate when he dies.

(B) The property will not fom1 part of Mr. Mayuga’s gross estate when he dies because he paid the donor’s tax.

(D) The property will not form part of Mr. Mayuga’s gross estate because it is no longer his.

18. Mr. Z made an importation which he declared at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as “Used Truck Replacement Parts”. Upon investigation, the container vans contained 15 units of Porsche and Ferrari cars.
Characterize Mr. Z’s action. (1%)

(A) Mr. Z committed smuggling.

(B) Mr. Z did not commit smuggling because he submitted his shipment to BOC examination.

(D) Mr. Z did not commit smuggling because the shipment has not left the customs area.

19. Mr. A was preparing his income tax return and had some doubt on whether a commission he earned should be declared for the current year or for the succeeding year. He sought the opinion of his lawyer who advised him to report the commission in the succeeding year. He heeded his lawyer’s advice and reported the commission in the succeeding year. The lawyer’s advice turned out to be wrong; in Mr. A’s petition against the BIR assessment, the court ruled against Mr. A.
Is Mr. A guilty of fraud? (1%)

(A) Mr. A is not guilty of fraud as he simply followed the advice of his lawyer.

(B) Mr. A is guilty of fraud; he deliberately did not report the commission in the current year when he should have done so.

(D) Mr. A is guilty for failing to consult his accountant.

20. The BIR, through the Commissioner, instituted a system requiring taxpayers to submit to the BIR a summary list of their sales and purchases during the year, indicating the name of the seller or the buyer and the amount. Based on these lists, the BIR discovered that in 2004 ABC Corp. purchased from XYZ Corp. goods worthP5,000,000. XYZ Corp. did not declare these for income tax purposes as its reported gross sales for 2004was only Pl,000,000.
Which of the following defenses may XYZ Corp. interpose in an assessment against it by the BIR? (1%)

(A) The BIR has no authority to obtain third party information to assess taxpayers.

(B) The third party information is inadmissible as hearsay evidence.

(D) None of the above.

TAXATION BAR EXAMS 2013 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQ)

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