The country’s first-ever tax academy will conduct workshops, lectures and other training programs on top of offering courses in keeping with the goal of the Department of Finance (DOF) to produce a core of experts that will help attain the government’s goal of a tax-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio of 17 percent over the medium term.
Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil Beltran said the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) that the DOF will launch this year will serve “to develop and implement a curriculum which includes those pertaining to (a) the technical aspects of tax collection, administration and compliance, and (b) the career orientation and development for civil servants.”
“The PTA is intended to develop a corps of tax and fiscal experts who will formulate and implement the fiscal programs of government to ensure attainment of the country’s fiscal objectives—a 17 percent tax effort in the medium term and an efficient tax enforcement that will minimize tax evasion,” said Beltran.
He said the current tax-to-GDP ratio is 14.2 percent.
At last December’s launch of the PTA official logo, Beltran said the academy will offer “lectures, seminars, workshops and other training programs designed to mold, develop, and enhance the skills and knowledge, moral fitness, efficiency and capability of tax collectors and administrators.”
Under Republic Act No. 10143 signed almost seven years ago, the PTA “shall serve as a learning institution for tax collectors and administrators of the government and selected applicants from the private sector.”
To be set up as a corporate body, the PTA is authorized under the law to enter into consortium agreements and joint venture agreements with the University of the Philippines, public and private universities and training institutions “for the development and implementation of the curriculum, programs for orientation, career development and continuing education in tax collection, auditing, administration and compliance.”
Under RA 10143, “All existing officials and personnel of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), the BOC (Bureau of Customs) and the BLGF (Bureau of Local Government Finance) shall be required to undergo the re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the Philippine Tax Academy.”
The law also requires “all applicants to the said bureaus” “to pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent status.”
The Board of Trustees of the PTA shall include representatives from the DOF, BIR, BOC, BLGF and three representatives from the academe with at least five years of teaching experience in reputable schools.
Other Asian countries such as Japan, China, India, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have their respective tax academies that also train tax and customs authorities, as well as private individuals in taxation and finance assessment and management.
Beltran earlier said that the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or –Controlled Corporations (GCG) will have to review the organizational and staff structure of the PTA.
He said that the Department of Budget and Management decided the tax academy “must be (a) GCG-covered entity per Republic Act 10143.”
The DBM had also decided that the initial funding for the country’s first ever tax academy would be sourced from the government’s support to GOCCs through the annual budget or the General Appropriations Act, Beltran added.
Beltran said the DOF is planning to tie up with State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) such as the University of the Philippines (UP) and the University of Makati (UMak) in setting up the PTA.
The DOF is also planning to open regional campuses of the PTA in the Visayas and Mindanao with the main site in Region 10 following a request by the BLGF for the renovation of its Northern Mindanao regional office in Cagayan de Oro City to a PTA Center.
This planned PTA Training Center will provide provincial employees of the BLGF, BIR and BOC continuing professional education and training on improving tax collection competence and efficiency.
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