Gov’t counts on BIR reshuffle to curb corruption, raise tax take

President Duterte’s order to reshuffle officers at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will not only curb corruption but also help the country’s biggest tax-collection agency achieve its P2.08-trillion target for 2021, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

“Following the President’s directive, we are awaiting for the BIR to submit to us their proposed movement of officers and personnel for my approval,” Dominguez said on Wednesday night, referring to President Duterte’s televised order last Monday night as he bewailed long-standing corruption in the agency whose collections accounted for the bulk of government revenues.

“Commissioner [Caesar] Dulay is in the best position to identify these officers and personnel, and recommend to me their new places of assignment,” said Dominguez, who also supervises the BIR as an attached agency of the Department of Finance.Dominguez said the reshuffle “will largely address the familiarity of revenue officers with taxpayers vis-à-vis their audit duties and functions in their current assignments.”“On the other hand, the [BIR] Commissioner’s judgment in determining the assignments of the revenue officers in the different areas has, in the past, improved collection efficiency that resulted in an increase in collection of taxes in various revenue regions,” Dominguez added.

As of press time, Dulay did not reply to queries on the timetable and number of revenue officers to be reshuffled.

Last Monday, Dulay said the BIR had collected P1.89 trillion in taxes last year, 12.7-percent higher than the downscaled full-year goal of P1.69 trillion.The BIR’s tax take in 2020 was nonetheless below the record P2.18 trillion in 2019, as the pandemic-induced recession slashed individuals “incomes and firms” revenues.