Taxmen want corporate salaries
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Encouraged by an unprecedented 40% growth in direct tax collections, the income tax officials have sought salaries at par with corporate sector from the Sixth Pay Commission.
"In order to have the best minds in public sector the pay scales and perquisites should be at par with private sector" income tax employees said in their representation to the pay commission, which is expected to submit its report to the government early next year.
Referring to high salaries of tax officials at international level, the IT department officials said though a well-paid bureaucracy may not eradicate corruption, it would certainly remove the perceived feeling of discrimination.
"There is no full neutralisation in respect of HRA anywhere in the country" the IT officials said. They have also reportedly asked that annual confidential reports be made open documents.
Sources said over 60 Class-I officials have already left the IT Department, which is facing shortage of staff due to restrictions on recruitment and unremunerative salary packages in comparison to the private sector.
The officials who left government service to join private consultancy firms or corporates are earning more than double the salaries then their counterparts in the department.
Although Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has announced one per cent incentive to the tax employees out of tax collections over and above the budget target, and said over 7000 posts would be filled, the IT Department is losing revenue due to shortage of competent staff, the source said.
They said though government is ready to pay better salary packages to the tax employees, it will wait for the recommendations of the Pay Commission.
Since it was hopeful to surpass the budget target of tax collection at the Rs.548000 crore in 2007-08, it would not find it difficult to pay high salaries to attract better talent in the tax department, they said.
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