Perfecto vs.

Meer
Facts:
(a) April 1947: Collector of Internal Revenue required Mr. Justice
Gregorio Perfecto to pay income tax for his salary of being a
member of the court during 1946
(b)Justice Perfecto paid the P802.00 but contested in court that
the collection of tax was illegal because it is in violation of the
Constitution
(c) Article VIII, Section 9 of the 1935 Constitution provides that
shall receive such compensation as may fixed by law, which
shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
(d)It also provides that until Congress shall provide otherwise,
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall receive an annual
compensation of P16,000.00
Issue:
(a) Whether or not the imposition of an income tax upon the
salary of Justice Perfecto in 1946 amounts to a diminution

Ruling:
(a) Yes. The imposition of an income tax upon the salary if Justice
Perfecto in 1946 amounts to a diminution.
(b)Unless and until our Legislative approves an amendment to
the Income Tax Law expressly taxing that salaries of judges
thereafter appointed
(c) When the Income Tax Law was applied in the Philippines in
1913, the taxable income did not include salaries of judicial
officers when these are protected by diminution
(d)Philippine Constitutional Convention approved the prohibition
against diminution