‘S” RECEIVED %

Republic of the Philippines Pines FEB 15.2
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

5065

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative Victoria Isabel G. Noel

EXPLANATORY NOTE

More than three-fourths (3/4) of the country’s tax revenues are
collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The responsibility vested in the
Bureau requires an efficient, professional and transparent tax
administration that will meet revenue targets and effectively enforce tax
laws.

With a total allowed plantilia of 21,491 employees’, the Bureau should
be providing top-notch taxpayer service and unparalleled tax administration.
However, this is not the case since the BIR lacks needed personnel. In
recent years, the BIR seems to have become merely a “last option” for
professional, technical and skilled job-seekers. With 27,219,916 registered
taxpayers to service, the BIR only has 9,835 in its complement which
amounts to a ratio of 2,767 taxpayers to 1 revenuer.

A number of issues which hound the BIR finds cause in the
uncompetitive salary that revenuers receive. To those seeking employment,
the low salary is not commensurate to the intimidating volume of taxpayers
and the large amount to be assessed and collected by the Bureau. As such,
the BIR has become an employment alternative while job-seekers wait for
better jobs, or worse, a last option altogether. With other agencies and the
public sector providing more in terms of salary and benefits, the BIR will not
be able to attract professionals and technical manpower to join its
workforce.

Aside from this, the low salary of revenue employees is seen as a
major factor in the cultivation of a culture of corruption of need, the
demoralization of current personnel and the deterioration on the
institutional knowledge of personnel.

The government must address the needs of the Bureau, lest we
sacrifice needed revenues to fund the programs of the government. It should

+ Executive Order No. 366


be highlighted that the government should safeguard the BIR and its
employees in its fulfillment of its vital role in nation building.

It is worthy to note that the Bureau of Customs has been allowed
through Section 202 of the Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs
Modernization and Tariff Act to conduct a compensation study with the end
view of developing and recommending to the President a competitive
compensation and remuneration system to attract and retain highly
qualified personnel. This representation believes that the Bureau of Internal
Revenue deserves the same privilege, if not more, for their efforts and for the
betterment of tax administration.

It is thus proposed that the BIR be removed from the coverage of
Republic Act No. 6758 otherwise known as the “Compensation and Position
Classification Act of 1989”, or the “Salary Standardization Law”.

In view of the foregoing, the timely passage of this bill is earnestly
prayed for.

VICTORIA ISABEL G. NOEL


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 5065

Se

Introduced by Representative Victoria Isabel G. Noel

AN ACT EXEMPTING THE BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE
FROM THE COVERAGE OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6758,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE SALARY STANDARDIZATION LAW,
AS AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION1. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to reform tax
administration and ensure efficient and effective collection of taxes by
employing and maintaining competent and professional revenue officials and
personnel to collect taxes and enforce internal revenue tax laws. Towards
this end, the State shall exempt the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and
its employees from the coverage of Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise known
as the Salary Standardization Law, as amended.

SEC. 2. Exémption from Salary Standardization. — The BIR and its employees
shall be exempt from the coverage of the Salary Standardization Law.

‘The BIR is hereby authorized to formulate its own Compensation and
Position Classification System based on the following principles:

(a) BIR personnel shall be paid just and equitable wages in accordance
with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value;

(b) Basic compensation for BIR personnel shall generally be
comparable with those in the private sector doing comparable work and
must be in accordance with prevailing laws on minimum wages;

(c) The BIR Compensation and Position Classification System shall be
determined through a comprehensive analysis and audit of actual duties
and responsibilities of the Bureau's officials and employees;


(a) The total compensation provided for government personnel must
be maintained at a reasonable level in proportion to the national budget;
and

(e) A review of government compensation rates, taking into account
the performance of the Bureau, its overall contribution to the national
economy, and the possible erosion in purchasing power due to inflation and
other factors, shall be conducted periodically;

SEC. 3. Incentives to Bureau Officials and Personnel. - The Bureau, subject
to the approval of the President, may provide for other incentives not
provided under existing laws and Civil Service laws.

SEC. 4. Approval of the President. - The BIR Compensation and Position
Classification System implemented pursuant to this Act shall be approved
by the President, and shall be subject to periodic review by the BIR, in
consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),
Department of Finance (DoF) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), not
more than once every three (3) years, without prejudice to yearly merit
reviews or increases based on performance.

SEC. 5. Non-diminution of Salaries. - The BIR Compensation and Position
Classification System to be developed and recommended by the BIR, as
approved by the President, shall apply to all positions, on full or part-time
basis, now existing or hereafter created: Provided, That in no case shall
there be any diminution in the authorized salaries of incumbent employees
of the BIR as of December 31, 2016, upon the implementation of the
approved BIR Compensation and Position Classification System.

SEC. 6. Accountability of BIR Personnel. - To safeguard the integrity of the
tax administration and the revenue service, Bureau personnel shall observe
the highest level of accountability and ethical standards in the performance
of the mandate of their functions in line with the requirements of the Civil
Service.

SEC. 7. Appropriation Clause. - The amount necessary to implement this Act
shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its
enactment into law.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. - If any of the sections or provisions of this Act
is held invalid, ‘all other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, issuances, rules and
regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed
or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,