Palace creates new BIR position for ex-SGV partner
By Lala Rimando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 08/19/2009 5:28 PM
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MANILA - Malacanang has created a new position at the country’s main revenue collection agency for a former partner of a top auditing firm. The appointment is creating an uproar among employees at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Former SGV partner Joel Tan-Torres has been recently appointed as senior deputy commissioner at the BIR, which collects about three-fourths of the country’s revenues.
President Arroyo signed Executive Order 827 last August 14, and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves announced Tan-Torres’ appointment on Wednesday.
Tan-Torres’s appointment makes him the second highest official in the agency next to BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV.
Teves said he was consulted by the Palace on the planned creation of the officer of the senior deputy commissioner in the BIR.
BIR employees concerned
BIR officials and employees were reportedly surprised with and demoralized about the creation of a new position at the agency.
The officials were reportedly concerned that the new position is even higher than the existing deputy commissioners of the agency.
Current BIR head Esquivias took over from Lilian Hefti who resigned. Esquivias has been on the job for less than a year since his November 2008 appointment, which had little to do with Teves. (Read: New BIR chief reportedly backed by Enrile, Recto)
Esquivias has not attended the regular monthly press conferences held by Teves to report on the country’s fiscal condition.
Teves and Esquivias have had differences over several issues including the implementation of Oplan: Kandado. (Read: Teves plans to review BIR’s ‘Oplan Kandado’)
Weak tax collections
The BIR’s performance has not been rosy lately. And this has been highlighted amidst concerns that the fiscal gap is widening as government spending is increased to cushion the local economy against the global economic slowdown.
In January to July period this year, tax take was 4.4% lower than the same period last year.
Tax collections in the first 7 months only reached P433.2—about P20 billion short of the P453.2 billion collections in the same period last year.
The collection goal of the BIR has been reduced several times to P875.1 billion from the original target of P965 billion this year.
Last year, the agency missed its revised collection goal of P810 billion by a record P31.4 billion after it only managed to collect P778.6 billion last year.
This contributed to a P188-billion budget deficit in the first 7 months—already 75% of the P250 billion full year target. The government announced that it is banking on the sale of state-owned assets to meet the deficit target.
The performance of the BIR is crucial in how much the government would borrow in the foreign and domestic debt markets. The overall fiscal status, in turn, affects the cost of these borrowings.
The new position
Tan-Torres, however, is not new to the BIR having joined the agency from 1980 to 1996.
After ending his 16 year stint with the BIR as assistant commissioner, he joined SGV as director in 1996 and served as partner for tax services from 1998 to March this year.
He was one of the small group of SGV senior partners who broke away over a disagreement with younger partners on the role of British principal Ernst & Young in the local auditing giant's practice.
The 52-year old CPA board topnotcher studied at the University of the Philippines and Harvard School.
Tan-Torres told reporters that he was mandated by Malacanang to provide support to the BIR commissioner in administering the agency’s operations and in directing all the officers and employees.
He added that he was tasked to provide policies and pursue programs in the strategic and tactical aspects of tax administration including enhancing taxpayer service and information dissemination.
According to him, he also intends to implement a media campaign to change the agency’s image and to form a Tax Academy or Training Institute to institutionalize an effective tax practitioner accreditation program.
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