Tax Officers' Union urges employees, tax payers to Support Govt's modernisation programme

Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Tax Officers' Union has urged all parties including employees of the Inland Revenue Department and the tax paying public to support the Government towards the modernisation programme of the Department

Issuing a media release, the Union states:

Inland Revenued modernisation programme was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on June 23, 2004. The objectives of the this programme are to introduce a new tax culture, establish an efficient tax administration and optimize the collection of government tax revenue. In accordance with Cabinet approval the Revenue Board was constituted under the chairmanship of Commissioner General of Inland Revenue. The Cabinet decision indicates that the officials of Ministry of Finance had several discussions with the employees, Senior Staff and Trade Unions of the Inland Revenue Department in order to formulate an action plan to modernise the Department in line with the administrative structure of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Further the Revenue Board was authorized to revise the cadre of the Inland Revenue Department to suit the proposed modernization plan following the appropriate procedure and immediately effect promotions of Tax Officers to Assessors' grade to ensure that the proposed structure is implemented without anomalies. Minister of Finance Dr. Sarath Amunugama on 16th July 2004 has given a statement to the mass media that all Senior Tax Officers and Tax Officers would be absorbed into Assessors' grade with immediate effect and officers absorbed into the Assessors' Grade will be absorbed into the same post to which present Assessors are absorbed in the organisation structure and the hierarchy gain in the new service minute proposed to be brought in future. Very important constructive unanimous decisions were made by the Revenue Board and the necessary action on behalf of the board had taken by the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning and Deputy Secretary to the Treasury without any delay.

But, modernisation steering committees representing the trade unions strongly opposed and prevented implementing the decisions made by Revenue Board. The attention of the relevant political authorities and Government officials was drawn by our representations in depth in this regard. We stressed Government ownership of tax administration, job security of the employees and officers' responsibility to abide by the code of ethics and conduct themselves in a manner which reflects the spirits of the Inland Revenue Department. We also urged that the suggestions of our union be implemented expeditiously along with the decisions made by the Revenue Board. The suggestions of our union are to:

* absorb about 581 Senior Tax Officers and Tax Officers into the Assessors' Grade.

* recruit about 600 young Graduates with class, Attorneys-at-Law and Chartered Accountants to Assessors' Grade.

* recruit about 1500 GCE Advanced Level qualified personnel with Commerce subjects to Tax Officers' Grade.

* regulate examination process in order to do away with cheating malpractices and irregularities.

The relevant Political Authorities and Government Officials has accepted our demands and most of which have already been granted. Government decisions in this regard has been declared by Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minster of Finance and Planning and Dr. P.B. Jayasundara. Secretary to the Treasury on May 19, 2005.

We wish to extend our gratitude to relevant Political Authorities and Government Officials for their co-operation in this regard and we affirm that our union extends its fullest co-operation to the Government towards the modernisation Programme.

Political Authorities need to pay special attention to the aspect of the spread of wrong information misleading action, waste of time and strategic interruption with the objective of achieving narrow gains which are still in existence. It said, Mafia groups should not be allowed to hamper implementation of government policy decisions which are of national interest.

We urge the all parties including employees of the Inland Revenue Department and tax paying public support to the Government towards the modernisation programme, states D. M. Bandara Dissanayake, Joint Secretary and M.K. Sarath Weerasuriya President of the Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Tax Officers' Union in a press release.