House bill filed to exempt BIR from government salary rules

A PROPOSAL to exempt the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from the Salary Standardization Law to help address the agency’s underperformance against revenue targets has been filed in the House of Representatives.

Deputy Speaker Raneo E. Abu filed House Bill 5028 on Monday, which states that the BIR will be “authorized to formulate its own Compensation and Position Classification System.”

Mr. Abu confirmed that the bill he filed was the same bill drafted by the BIR and submitted to the House of Representatives in January.

“That is the version of the BIR. I did not change anything,” Mr. Abu told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.

The bill follows five general principles, he said:

• Just and equitable wages in accordance with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value;

• Basic compensation being comparable with those in the private sector, subject to minimum wage rules;

• The pre-requisite of an audit of the BIR Compensation and Position Classification System, to determine actual duties and responsibilities of Bureau staff;

• Reasonable levels of compensation relative to the rest of the national government; and

• Periodic evaluations of the Bureau’s performance, its overall contribution to the national economy, and the possible erosion in purchasing power due to inflation and other factors.

Incentives not included under the Civil Service laws may likewise be granted by the BIR to its employees and officials provided that they are approved by the President.

The bill also requires the periodic review of the Compensation and Position Classification System to be made in consultation with the Budget department, Finance department and Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Abu said in his explanatory note that the current structure for compensation in the agency “encourages and worsens the current system of incompetence and corruption.”

“Due to these problems, tax collection suffers and largescale evaders get away,” said Mr. Abu.

“With a total allowed plantilla of 21,491 employees, the Bureau should be providing top-notch tax payer service and unparalleled tax administration. However, this is not the case since the BIR lacks the needed personnel,” said Mr. Abu.

The Deputy Speaker added that the BIR currently has 9,835 employees serving more than 27 million registered taxpayers, which amounts to a ratio of 2,767 taxpayers to one BIR employee.

“With competitive salaries it is expected that corruption of need shall be eliminated, and that more job-seekers shall see the BIR as a worthy employer and revenue collection for the betterment of the Philippines a worthy cause to fight for,” said Mr. Abu.

Similar proposals have been filed in the Senate, with Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chairman of the Ways and Means committee backing the measures, saying that “higher salaries would enable the Bureau to attract competent talent, serve as a disincentive to corruption and help fill up the numerous vacancies which number close to 10,000.” —