Do not criminalise the law-abiding
Yes, there are tax dodgers who owe the government lots in outstanding taxes and yes, there are a lot of tenderpreneurs who benefitted in the past, who also owe a lot. Deal with them in the strictest possible terms and to the full extent of the law, if they have not paid up by 11 March 2018. However, do not criminalise normal, law-abiding people and companies at the same time. That would be a grave mistake.
It is no big secret that our government, through the Ministry of Finance, needs to get its hands on money to replace all that has been wasted - lots of it and pretty sharpish as well.
The core of the problem lies in the fact that the collection agency - the Inland Revenue (IR) offices across the country - is a spectacular mess! Incompetence and arrogance reign supreme in these areas.
Whether this is to disguise the absence of a much-needed intricate knowledge of accounting and tax laws is debatable. What is crystal clear is the fact that very few of these people are up to the task (maybe through no fault of their own) of keeping up with a fast-moving and quite complicated 21st century environment.
From the side of the private sector, you have CAs, accountants, bookkeepers and whoever else.
They know their tax laws and what they are doing when assisting their clients in tax matters. They are supposed to be working together with and assisting the IRin revenue collection. But these poor people are so fed up with struggling with the supposed tax collectors at the IR that they don't feel compelled to do this anymore. And therein lies the problem for our finance ministry. You cannot prosecute people through the processes of the law if you do not adhere to the very same law yourself.
Couple this with the fact that judging by past performances, these hard-earned tax dollars are just going to be wasted after collection - that will just add to a general reluctance to pay up.
Competence is key here!
It is no big secret that our government, through the Ministry of Finance, needs to get its hands on money to replace all that has been wasted - lots of it and pretty sharpish as well.
The core of the problem lies in the fact that the collection agency - the Inland Revenue (IR) offices across the country - is a spectacular mess! Incompetence and arrogance reign supreme in these areas.
Whether this is to disguise the absence of a much-needed intricate knowledge of accounting and tax laws is debatable. What is crystal clear is the fact that very few of these people are up to the task (maybe through no fault of their own) of keeping up with a fast-moving and quite complicated 21st century environment.
From the side of the private sector, you have CAs, accountants, bookkeepers and whoever else.
They know their tax laws and what they are doing when assisting their clients in tax matters. They are supposed to be working together with and assisting the IRin revenue collection. But these poor people are so fed up with struggling with the supposed tax collectors at the IR that they don't feel compelled to do this anymore. And therein lies the problem for our finance ministry. You cannot prosecute people through the processes of the law if you do not adhere to the very same law yourself.
Couple this with the fact that judging by past performances, these hard-earned tax dollars are just going to be wasted after collection - that will just add to a general reluctance to pay up.
Competence is key here!
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article