Government needs P10.3-B for BIR workers

The Arroyo administration will have to set aside at least P10.3 billion to pay off Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) employees when the BIR is dissolved to make way for an independent revenue authority.

Already facing criticism for deliberately slowing down revenue collections early in 2002 and partly causing the huge shortfalls in BIR collections, the BIR Employees Association is now seeking a separation package equivalent to five months for every year of service should the plan for a new revenue agency push through.

The separation benefit would be over and above the one-month separation benefit government employees were entitled to under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The BIREA was the most vocal group that opposed the BIR reforms spearheaded by former Internal Revenue Commissioner Rene Bañez who eventually quit his post.

In 2002, the BIR was P30 billion short of its target revenue collection and the finance department estimated that the BIR was unable to collect P242 billion in taxes annually due to massive corruption.

Despite the BIR’s repeatedly dismal performance, the BIREA was also demanding the rehiring of 80 percent of BIR personnel in the new agency, plus two years of training to earn the educational qualifications under the proposed National Authority for Revenue Administration (NARA).

Finance officials said BIR employees have been threatening to go on another strike to block the bicameral move seeking to overhaul the bureau which has been notorious for being one of the most corrupt agencies of government.

During the first half of 2002, the Arroyo administration suffered a huge revenue shortfall due mainly to the slowdown in BIR collections that occurred in the wake of Bañez’s plans to crack down on corrupt revenue employees.

Bañez had endorsed the dismissal of at least 20 revenue officials and personnel suspected of graft and corruption, the first crackdown in the agency since the incumbent administration took over the executive branch.

Bañez was pressed to resign after he also endorsed an executive order in preparation for the proposed transformation of the BIR into a corporation to be governed by a revenue board and headed by a chief executive officer with a fixed term.

The proposed industry benchmarking, now being implemented by incumbent BIR chief Guillermo Parayno, would organize BIR’s tax information and database according to industry segments.

This would enable the BIR to develop a reliable database for revenue forecasting and performance monitoring. It would also allow the agency to develop taxpayer profiling.

The order was supposed to depoliticize revenue collection although the more radical reform would have to wait for the passage of the proposed House Bill 5054 which would create NARA. – Des Ferriols