DOF Secretary Recto Lauds PH Tax Academy For Training Programs, Highlights Its Role In Boosting Revenues For Nat'l. Development

Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has praised the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA), led by its President, Mr. Gil Beltran, for expanding its training programs.

The Academy develops and implements curricula covering the technical aspects of tax collection, administration, and compliance, along with career orientation and development for its applicants. I Photo: Department of Finance Facebook

Recto urged the agency to further scale up its capacity-building efforts for government tax personnel to help boost revenue collections, which are vital for national development.

Recto emphasized, “The Philippine Tax Academy is our crucial partner in ensuring that our revenue officers are well-equipped with the knowledge and expertise to raise the collective level of efficiency, transparency, and credibility in performing their sacred duties of raising much-needed resources for the benefit of the Filipino people.”

He added, “We owe it to our taxpayers to ensure that there are no inconsistencies in our tax collections and that our tax collectors and administrators provide them with the best service possible, marked by honesty and competence.

”The finance chief noted that the PTA, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), serves as a learning institution for government tax collectors and administrators, as well as applicants from the private sector.

The Academy develops and implements curricula covering the technical aspects of tax collection, administration, and compliance, along with career orientation and development for its applicants.

The PTA currently comprises three institutes—the Internal Revenue Institute (IRI), which builds the capacity of employees at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR); the Customs Institute (CI), which serves the Bureau of Customs (BOC); and the Local Government Finance Institute (LGFI), which supports the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) and local treasurers nationwide.

To broaden its mandate, the PTA is actively exploring opportunities to extend its services to other DOF-attached agencies and GOCCs, such as the National Tax Research Center (NTRC) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

In 2023, the PTA trained 7,242 employees and developed 53 additional courses and modules.

To capture international best practices in its curriculum, the Academy has partnered with six recognized academic and training institutions, including the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), as well as international organizations such as the Korea International Cooperation Service through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Japan Customs Training Institute through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the National Tax Agency Japan through the National Tax College, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).