POLICE chiefs have begun a crackdown on officers who neglect to pay their tax on time.
Section commanders have recently been instructed to counsel police who have either failed to pay up or whose tax payments are deducted from their salary.
The new measures aim to decrease indebtedness among police, a problem highlighted by the Director of Audit last year. A report said one in 17 officers could have financial problems.
However, the tightened accountability measures stop well short of banning the late payment of tax or considering disciplinary action.
This is despite apparent manoeuvring by some in the force to adopt a tougher attitude to decrease the rate of garnishee orders issued to police.
Garnishee orders, issued by the Inland Revenue Commissioner to the Director of Accounting Services in cases of salaries tax default, require the director to deduct unpaid tax from the officers' wages.
In 1992-93, 2,444 police staff, or eight per cent of the force, received such orders. This compared with an average of five per cent of all civil servants.