GR 39147; (August, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 39147 ; August 4, 1933
THE CITY OF MANILA, plaintiff-appellee, vs. LEOCADIO TANQUINTIC, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The City of Manila sued Leocadio Tanquintic, a public utility operator, to collect annual license fees for his passenger automobiles operated for hire on Manila streets from 1925 to 1929 under sections 785 and 786 of the Revised Ordinances of Manila. Tanquintic held a certificate of public convenience from the Public Service Commission and had paid the annual license fees and obtained licenses (certificates of registration) for his vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Traffic Act, No. 3045, as well as privilege and percentage taxes under the Administrative Code. However, he did not secure or pay the separate license fees required by the City of Manila ordinances.
ISSUE
Whether the City of Manila can require a public utility operator, who has already paid the annual license fees and secured licenses under the Motor Vehicle Traffic Act ( Act No. 3045 ), to also pay annual license fees under its local ordinances.
RULING
No. The judgment of the lower court is reversed.
The Motor Vehicle Traffic Act ( Act No. 3045 ) is an all-inclusive insular law that fully occupies the field of legislation regarding the imposition of fees for the operation of motor vehicles for compensation or hire. Section 53 of the Act expressly provides that no further fees beyond those fixed in the Act shall be exacted by any public authority for the operation or use of any motor vehicle on public highways. While the Act allows local governments to impose a lawful property tax (contribucion) on motor vehicles, the license fees imposed by the City of Manila under its ordinances are distinct from a property tax. A license fee is a charge for permission to do an act, primarily for police purposes, whereas a property tax is assessed according to the value of the property. Therefore, the City of Manila cannot impose additional license fees on motor vehicles already licensed under the insular Act. The decision is limited to the City of Manila and does not affect license fees previously paid without protest, nor does it preclude the City from imposing a property tax on motor vehicles.
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