DOF considers increasing five-fold salaries of BIR personnel

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III is amenable to exempting the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) personnel from the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) if they waive their security of tenure especially when found to have done wrong.

“We get comments that salaries of tax collectors are too low. We’re considering the idea that we will raise their salaries five times, [only if] they give up tenure … of their civil service,” Dominguez said in a forum held at the World Trade Center last week.

According to Dominguez, erring BIR employees should not invoke security of tenure especially if they are found later on to have engaged in corrupt practices.

Last week, BIR Deputy Commissioner Jesus Clint O. Aranas said he already pitched to Congress a draft bill that would exempt the BIR from the SSL. The BIR wants its own compensation system instead.

“The thrust of the Duterte administration is to curb corruption. Salaries play a major part in the fight against corruption. Some employees earn only about P9,000 a month. Our commissioners earn less than the commissioners of other agencies,” Aranas said.

As such, Aranas said BIR personnel were “prone to graft.”

“The moment the government supports fully and recognizes the need to professionalize the BIR, we will have an instant makeover. We want to hire the best of the best. If we allow that to happen, the image of the agency will change,” he said.

Aranas noted that while the country’s biggest tax-collection agency can accommodate 21,000 employees, it currently employs only 10,000.

In a briefing paper, the BIR said SSL exemption will eliminate a “corruption of need.”

“Corruption should be addressed at its roots—low salaries and lack of incentives that target the need of BIR personnel. If wages are too low for revenuers to support themselves and their dependents, the more likely they are to engage in corrupt behavior. It is always preferable to focus on prevention through the building of integrity through positive and pro-active preventive approach,” the BIR said.

It said there should be a personnel incentives structure that would motivate revenue officers to act in the interest of the BIR.

“Thus, revenuers should receive compensation that grants them financial security and dignity to resist the temptation to be corrupted,” the BIR said.

For instance, the BIR noted that the agency pays entry-level accountants only P19,620-21,387 per month, while their counterparts in SSL-exempt agencies such as the Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission get paid up to P46,104 and P50,238 a month, respectively.

As for an entry-level lawyer, the BIR pays him or her P35,693 monthly, whereas the monthly salary in the SEC is P53,754.

“Salaries for both entry-level lawyers and accountants may be said to be on a par with private sector rates; however, the room for career growth is lacking. In recent years, there has been a steady outflow of professionals and technical personnel in the BIR. Low salary and the lack of items for professional growth disincentivizes work in the BIR. Recruiting and retaining high-performing employees is a key challenge for organizations,” the BIR said.

The BIR noted that in other countries, tax administration was recognized as a specialized and technical field. “Recognizing the premium of technical experts in their employ, the governments of Japan, Malaysia and Singapore have been paying the highest wages to their revenue employees,” it added.

The agency also cited occupational hazards facing tax collectors.

“In recent years, a number of BIR personnel have also been the target of ambush attempts and death threats. To recognize the danger that revenuers face by providing for institutionalized hazard pay and insurance will allow these personnel a sense of security in performing their mandate.”

According to the BIR, higher salaries would also result to higher collections. For every 2,767 taxpayers, there is only one tax collector. —BEN O. DE VERA