13. Taxation of domestic corporations Prior to the VAT law, sales of cars were subject to a sales tax but the tax applied only to the original or…
2013 Bar Exam · Taxation Law · Question 23 · Multiple choice
The question
13. Taxation of domestic corporations Prior to the VAT law, sales of cars were subject to a sales tax but the tax applied only to the original or the first sale; the second and subsequent sales were not subject to tax. Deltoid Motors, Inc. (Deltoid) hit on the idea of setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Gonmad Motors, Inc. (Gonmad), and of selling its assembled cars to Gonmad at a low price so it would pay a lower tax on the first sale. Gonmad would then sell the cars to the public at a higher price without paying any sales tax on this subsequent sale. Characterize the arrangement. (2013 Bar Question)
- A.The plan is a legitimate exercise of tax planning and merely takes advantage of a loophole in the law.
- B.The plan is legal because the government collects taxes anyway.
- C.The plan is improper; the veil of corporate fiction can be pierced so that the second sale will be considered the taxable sale.
- D.The government must respect Gonmad's separate juridical personality and Deltoid's taxable sale to it.
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