THE Department of Finance (DoF) said it is preparing the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the establishment of the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA).

“The DoF, through its Legal Group, has been reviewing the implementing rules and regulations of the tax academy,” the Finance department said in a statement, after it submitted to the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or –Controlled Corporations (GCG) the academy’s proposed organizational structure and staffing plan for approval.

The PTA, which is planned for launch in January, will serve as a training institution to provide revenue officials and staff continuing professional education on improving tax collection competence, efficiency and integrity.  

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said that the PTA “must be a GCG-covered entity per Republic Act (RA) 10143.”

RA 10143, or the Philippine Tax Academy Act,  was signed into law over seven years ago, but has not yet been implemented. 

All personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) are required to undergo training programs at the academy before they can be hired, whether on contractual basis or as permanent employees, according to the law.

The law calls for the curriculum to include the “technical aspects of tax collection, administration and compliance, and career orientation and development for civil servants.”

The government is considering setting up the training academy at the University of Philippines or the University of Makati, at a cost of some P20 billion.

Mr. Beltran said that the Department of Budget and Management had decided that the initial funding for the academy will be sourced from government subsidies appropriated for state-run corporations, under the General Appropriations Act.

The Board of Trustees of the Academy includes representatives from the Finance department, its revenue agencies, as well as three representatives from the academe with at least five years of teaching experience in “reputable schools.”

In October, the DoF said it may pursue a grant from the United States government for the establishment of the PTA after Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III met with US Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, David R. Malpass. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR