AMENDING SECTION 45(c) OF THE NATIONAL INTERNAL REVENUE CODE BY PRESCRIBING A SEPARATE DATE FOR THE FILING OF INCOME TAX RETURNS OF INDIVIDUALS WHOSE INCOMES ARE FIXED IN NATURE

WHEREAS, income tax filers have tremendously increased in
number to the extent of three times the number of income tax filers
before the proclamation of Martial Law;

WHEREAS, with the influx of tax filers, extreme difficulty
and inconvenience will be encountered both by the Government and the
taxpayers in the filing of income tax returns due to the fact that there
is only one fixed date for the filing of individual income tax returns;

WHEREAS, of the individual tax filers, more than fifty
percent derive income which is fixed in nature and, therefore, easy to
determine at the end of the calendar year; and

WHEREAS, it has become necessary to set aside another date
for the filing of income tax returns of individuals whose income are
more or less fixed in nature in order to reduce the work load on the
last day for the filing of income tax returns and prevent undue
inconvenience to taxpayers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and
pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General
Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and
decree:

SECTION 1. Section 45(c) of the National Internal Revenue
Code, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“(c) When to file. — (1) The return of the following
individuals shall be filed on or before the fifteenth day of March of
each year, covering income of the preceding taxable year:

(A) Residents of the Philippines, whether citizens or aliens,
whose income have been derived solely from salaries, wages, interests,
dividends, allowances, commissions, bonuses, fees, pensions or any
combination thereof; and

(B) Residents of the Philippines, whether citizens or aliens,
who have no income or whose income is below one thousand eight hundred
pesos or who did not have any transaction in any business carried on for
gain or profit during the preceding year, but are nevertheless required
to file an income tax return under paragraph No.3, subsection (a) of
this Section.

(2) The return of all other individuals not mentioned above,
including nonresident citizens, shall be filed on or before the
fifteenth day of April of each year covering income of the preceding
taxable year.”

SEC. 2. The Secretary of Finance, upon the recommendation
of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall promulgate the
implementing regulations on this amendment.

SEC. 3. This Decree shall apply to income tax returns
required to be filed for the taxable year 1973.

Done in the City of Manila, this 9th day of January, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.