The Philippine Online Chronicles

In the wake of the controversy surrounding the Bureau of Internal Revenue's perennial failure to meet its annual revenue targets, a congressman yesterday filed a bill seeking the creation of a “tax academy” to improve the country's tax collection efficiency.

House Committee on Ways and Means chair, Antique Rep. Exequiel B. Javier, authored House Bill 6881, otherwise known as “An act establishing the Philippine Tax Academy.”

According to Javier, the proposed legislation will equip tax collectors and government administrators with the requisite knowledge, trainings, skills and expertise, as well as moral fitness and ethics needed in the exercise of their duties.

Under the proposed measure, the academy shall be governed by a Board of Trustees – with representatives from the Department of Finance and the BIR. It will also include three representatives from the academe with at least five years of relevant experience from reputable institutions.

The school will be manned by a corps of professional lecturers in the fields of taxation and finance, he added.

Moreover, the academy shall consult with the University of the Philippines, public and private universities and training institutions for the development and implementation of its curriculum.

Newly-installed BIR chief Joel Tan-Torres described the proposed academy as a “welcome development” to the agency's tax administration system.

"This academy will directly help improve the BIR's collection efficiency, lessen bureaucratic red tape, revive the integrity of the tax service and boost the morale of revenue personnel," he said.

He believes that the proposed tax school will help the country keep at par with other developed countries that have benefited from the creation of their own 'tax academies.'

Singapore and the United Kingdom are two countries which have already established their own tax schools.

A similar legislation – Senate Bill 3206, was filed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson in May which pushed for the creation of a 'tax academy' – which will work as a component unit under the Department of Finance. The Senate official website reveals that the bill has been pending in the Ways and Means Committee since its filing.

A reported P241.5 billion shortfall on revenue collection prompted former BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV to resign from his post. He was replaced by Senior Deputy Commissioner Joel A. Tan-Torres.

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