PROVIDING FOR THE IMPOSITION OF AN ADDITIONAL TAX ON IDLE LANDS AND AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE THE PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REAL PROPERTY TAX CODE

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 1446
• Sections: 10

Preamble

WHEREAS, it is the declared policy of the State to promote

the maximum and efficient utilization of land in order to support the vital

government programs of rural development, low-cost housing, infrastructure and

others similarly designed for the primary benefit and upliftment of the poor and

the underprivileged;

WHEREAS, large tracts of productive agricultural and urban

lands of private ownership throughout the country remain idle and undeveloped

due to non-cultivation and non-utilization by the owners thereof;

WHEREAS, the apparent and continued accumulation of private

lands for speculation and other non-productive purposes serves as a deterrent to

the execution of country-wide socio-economic programs;

WHEREAS, to attain the New Society's objectives,

specifically those pertaining to rural development and urban growth, it is

imperative to induce the proper utilization of idle lands and amend for this

purpose existing provisions of law.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the

Constitution, do hereby decree and order as part of the law of the land the

following provisions:

Section 1

SECTION 1. Section 42 of Presidential Decree No. 464 is

hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 42. Additional ad valorem tax on idle

lands.

There is hereby imposed an additional property tax on idle lands at the rate

of FIVE PER CENT PER ANNUM based on the assessed value of the Provincial or City

Assessor of the Province or City where the property is located or by the

Municipal Assessor in the case of idle lands situated in the municipalities of

Metropolitan Manila.

The additional ad valorem tax levied in the preceding paragraph shall begin

to accrue on July 1, 1978, any provision of law to the contrary

notwithstanding."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Section 43 of Presidential Decree No. 464 is hereby

amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 43. Idle lands, coverage.—For purposes of

this Decree, idle lands shall include the following:

Agricultural lands suitable for cultivation, dairying, inland fishery, and

other agricultural uses, one half of which remain uncultivated or unimproved by

the owner or owners thereof.

Lands, other than agricultural, located in a City or Municipality, more than

2,000 square meters in area one half of which remain unutilized or unimproved by

the owner or owners thereof. This Section shall likewise apply to residential

lots in subdivisions duly approved by proper authorities, the ownership of which

has been transferred to individual owners, who shall be liable for the

additional tax. Individual lots of such subdivisions, the ownership of which has

not been transferred to the buyer shall be considered as forming part of the

subdivision, and shall be subject to the additional tax payable by subdivision

operator.

Section 3

SEC. 3. Section 44 of Presidential Decree No. 464 is hereby

amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 44. Idle lands exempt from tax.—The

additional levy on idle lands shall not apply to landowners who are unable to

improve, utilize or cultivate their lands due to any of the following

causes:

Adverse peace and order conditions as certified by the Provincial Commander

of the Philippine Constabulary. However, if within one year upon restoration of

the peace and order in the locality as certified by the said Provincial

Commander, the said land remains unimproved, unutilized, uncultivated, the

additional tax provided under Section forty two hereof shall be imposed.

Financial losses of the owner due to fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake and

other causes of similar nature declared by the owner in a sworn statement to be

submitted to the Provincial, City or Municipal Assessor stating the ground or

grounds therefore, which shall be accompanied by a certification from the proper

agency of the local government concerned. If the idle land is not improved to

the extent prescribed in the next preceding Section within two years from the

date of the occurrence of the loss, the tax provided under Section forty-two

hereof shall be imposed subject to rules and regulations issued in connection

herewith.

Existing court litigations involving the land subject to tax mentioned in

this chapter as certified by the Court under which the case is pending unless

said land is not improved within one year after the final adjudication of the

case to the extent provided in the next preceding Section, in which case, the

tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall be imposed.

Necessity to leave the land in a fallow state as certified by the

Provincial, City or Municipal Agriculturist, or in their absence, by the

Secretary of Agriculture or his duly authorized representatives, stating among

others, the length of time within which the land shall be considered ready for

production. If the idle land is not improved within one year after the

termination of such period of time, the tax provided under Section forty-two

hereof shall be imposed.

Unfavorable physical factors such as rocky nature of ground, and uneven

topography in the case of agricultural land, which render the land unsuitable

for cultivation as certified by the Provincial, City of Municipal Agriculturist,

or in their absence, by the Secretary of Agriculture or his duly authorized

representatives.

Acquired subdivision lots which remain idle due to the failure of the

subdivision developer or owner to develop the said subdivision in accordance

with the approved subdivision plan as determined by the Assessor. If within one

year, from the time the subdivision is developed, the said lot still remains

unutilized or unimproved, the tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall

be imposed."

Section 4

SEC. 4. Section 45 of Presidential Decree No. 464 is hereby

amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 45. Application for exemptions

The owner, administrator, or any person having legal interest on the land,

desiring to avail of the exemptions enumerated under Section 44 hereof, shall

file within six months from the date of effecivity of this Decree, the

corresponding application with the Assessor of the Province, City or

Municipality, where the land is situated. The application shall state the ground

or grounds under which the exemption is being claimed."

Section 5 Assessment and Collection.

SEC. 5. Assessment and Collection.—The assessment

and collection of the additional tax on idle land shall be in accordance with

the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 464, as amended.

Section 6 Distribution of Proceeds of the Additional Real Property tax on Idle Lands.

SEC. 6. Distribution of Proceeds of the Additional Real

Property tax on Idle Lands.—The proceeds of the additional real property

tax on idle land shall accrue to the general fund of the Province, City or

Municipality where such land subject to tax is situated, and shall be

distributed as follows:

In the Province: Fifty percent shall accrue to the Municipality where the

property subject to tax is situated and fifty percent shall accrue to the

province.

In the Cities: The entire proceeds of the additional tax on idle lands shall

accrue to the City where the land subject to tax is situated.

In the Cities and Municipalities in Metropolitan Manila: Fifty percent shall

accrue to the Metropolitan Manila Commission, and fifty percent to the City or

Municipality where the property subject to tax is situated.

Section 7 Promulgation of Rules by the Secretary of Finance.

SEC. 7. Promulgation of Rules by the Secretary of

Finance.—The Secretary of Finance shall promulgate the rules and

regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Decree and these shall

henceforth be considered or forming part of this Decree.

Section 8 Repealing Clause.

SEC. 8. Repealing Clause.—All laws, decrees,

orders, rules and regulations which are contrary to or inconsistent with this

Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 9 Effectivity.

SEC. 9. Effectivity.—This Decree shall take effect

immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June in the year of Our Lord,

Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the

Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JACOBO C. CLAVE

Presidential Executive

Assistant