Chapter 20
INTERNAL REVENUE STAMPS
THE INTERNAL REVENUE LAWS IN FORCE SINCE AUGUST 1, 1904

Act No. 1189 of the Philippine Commission, known as the Internal Revenue Law of 1904, became effective on August 1, 1904. This Act repealed prior internal revenue laws, including the Spanish Philippines internal revenue laws still in force at that time, and provided the Philippines with a new system of internal taxation. With certain modifications, the annual poll-tax (personal cedula tax) and the annual industrial tax ) license tax on occupations, professions, mercantile establishments and manufacturing industries) and the documentary stamp tax, which had been the principal sources of internal revenues during the Spanish regime, were retained.  In addition, the new law provided a system of excise taxes similar to that which had been developed in the United States. The new also provided that merchants and manufacturers should pay quarterly a “sales tax” of 1/3 of one percent of their gross sales, and that common carriers should pay quarterly a “percentage tax” of one percent of their gross receipts.

The following condensed schedules of the tax rates established by the Internal Revenue Law of 1904 is quoted from the condensed schedule compiled by Mr. John S. Hord and given by him in his pamphlet, Internal Taxation on the Philippines, published by the John Hopkins Press in 1907. the schedule of Documentary Stamp Taxes is omitted because this schedule will be given in a subsequent chapter devoted to Documentary Stamps.

CONDENSATION OF THE TAX RATES
of the Internal Revenue Law of 1904
(Expressed in Pesos, Philippine Currency)

Annual License Taxes a
Brewers
200.00
Distillers
200.00
Distillers who daily output is 4 hectoliters or less
48.00
Rectifiers of distilled spirits
200.00
Retail liquor dealers
48.00
Retail vino (wine) dealers
8.00
Wholesale liquor dealers
200.00
Retail dealers in fermented liquors
40.00
Wholesale dealers in fermented liquors
60.00
Dealers in manufactured tobacco
8.00
Manufacturers of tobacco
20.00
Manufacturers of cigars and cigarettes
20.00
Peddlers of manufactured tobacco, distilled manufactured or fermented spirits
16.00 to 80.00
Alcohol and Tobacco Products aa
On each liter of proof spirits
0.20
After January 1, 1907, the above tax
0.25
On each gauge liter of beer, lager beer, ale, porter and ether fermented liquor
0.04
On each kilogram of snuff
0.32
On each kilogram of chewing tobacco
0.48
On each kilogram of smoking tobacco
0.48
Cigars as follows: a
Wholesale price per M P20 or less, each thousand
2.00
Wholesale price per M more than P20 but not more than P50, per thousand
4.00
Wholesale price per M more than P50, per thousand
6.00
Cigarettes as follows: a
Weight per M not over 2 kilograms, each thousand
0.67
Weight per M over 2 kilograms, after Jan 1, 1907, each M
1.00
Weight per M over 2 kilograms, each thousand
2.00
Matches a
On each gross of matches of not over 120 sticks to a box
0.40
Over 120 sticks to a box, a proportional additional tax.
Imported matches pay the same tax as matches of domestic manufacture		 a
Bank and Bankers a
1/8 of 1 percent, each month on average deposit
1/24 of 1 percent, each month on capital employed
1/12 of 1 percent, each month on average amount of circulation
Annual tax of 1 percent each month on average amount of circulation issued beyond
  the amount of the paid-up capital		 a
Personal Cedula (Poll) Tax a
If paid on or before the last Saturday of April each year
1.00
If paid after the last Saturday of April each year
2.00
Persons arriving in the Philippines after the last Saturday of April, if paid within 20 days after arrival
1.00
Insurance Companies a
An annual tax of 1 percent on all premiums of insurance companies, or agencies thereof,
doing business in the Philippines.
Upon all reinsurance by a company which has already effected the insurance 
and paid the tax, 1/2 of 1 percent.		 a
Tax on Forest Products
The various provinces in the Philippine Islands are divided into classes A and B, and the various native trees are divided into four groups.
On each cubic meter of timber cut in any public forest or forest reserve in any of the provinces of the Philippine Islands for domestic sale or consumption, or for export, the following taxes are imposed:		 a
Province, Class
Timber, Group
  
A
First
5.00
B
First 
2.50
A
Second
3.00
B
Second
1.50
A
Third
1.50
B
Third
1.00
A
Fourth
1.00
B
Fourth
0.50
A
Unclassified
1.00
B
Unclassified
0.50

When timber is cut in any province included in Class A has been selected for felling by a duly authorized forest official, the rates on such timber shall be only such as are fixed in this section on timber cut in provinces included in Class B.
The taxes imposed in ebony and camagong are charged on said timber with the sapwood still attached, and the number of cubic meters in each piece of timber so measured includes the sapwood attached to the same; and when ebony or camagong timber from which the sapwood has been stripped is presented for measurement and approval, the following taxes are imposed:

Kind of Timber
Province, Class
  
Ebony
A
13.50 per C.M.
Ebony
B
6.00 per C.M.
Camagong
A
8.00 per C.M.
Camagong
B
4.50 per C.M.
a
On all firewood consisting of rejas (sticks) from 60cm to 150cm in length and from 7cm to 15cm in diameter, per thousand
a
1.00
On all firewood consisting of pieces of timber less than 60cm in length and less than 7cm in diameter, per cubic meter
a
0.10
On all gums and resins and other forest products gathered and removed from any province, on the actual market value thereof
a
10%
Mining Companies a
On each valid perfected mining concession granted prior to April 11, 1899 as follows: a
On each claim containing an area of 60,000 sqm, an annual license tax of
100.00
And the same rate proportionately on each claim containing an area of more, or less, than 60,000 sqm a
On gross output of each mine, an ad valorem tax equal to 3 percent of the actual market value of such output a
Taxes on Business, Manufacturers and Occupation a
Each merchant, and manufacturer, either on his own account, or on commission, On Jan. 1, 1905, 
or on any date thereafter that he begins business, shall pay
a
2.00
And at the end of each quarter thereafter shall pay a sales tax on the gross value of all goods sold, 
bartered or exchanged in the Philippine Islands of 1/3 of 1 percent.		 a
Common carriers and livery stable keepers on Jan. 1, 1905, or on any date thereafter 
that they begin business, shall pay
a
2.00
And at the end of each quarter thereafter shall pay on their gross receipts a tax of 1 percent. a
Annual Occupation and License Taxes as follows:
 a
Stock brokers, real estate brokers, custom house brokers and merchandise brokers, each
80.00
Theaters, museum, cockpits, concert halls and circuses, each
200.00
Pawn brokers
200.00
Billiard rooms, each table
10.00
Lawyers, medical practitioners, civil engineers, mining engineers, land surveyors, and architects, each
50.00
Dental surgeons, and procurators judiciaries, each
40.00
Undergraduate in medicine
10.00
Chiropodists, manicurists, photographers, lithographers, engravers & appraisers 
or connoisseurs of products, each
a
40.00
Veterinarians, farriers, and proprietors of shops for repair of bicycles and vehicles, each
20.00
Owners of race tracks in Manila, on each day races are run
60.00
Owners of race tracks in the provinces, on each day that races are run, not less than
20.00