Tax dodgers to face the music

GOVERNMENT is to conduct a forensic tax audit of all taxpayers in a bid to retrieve revenue from non-payers, under-payers and tax fraudsters.

The forensic audit will review taxpayers registered with the Inland Revenue Windhoek regional office to check whether they have paid their tax – be it VAT, corporate or personal income tax – for the last five years. The audit will also investigate dealings by Government officials.All customs offices at border posts will also come under the spotlight.In the past, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has bemoaned revenue loss through a lax tax collection system.The Windhoek regional office accounts for most of the country’s taxpayers – besides individuals living in the Windhoek district, all companies operating in Namibia are registered under it.Although it is a first for the Windhoek office, a similar exercise was carried out at the Northern Regional Office at Oshakati last year, and Government managed to retrieve N$1,3 billion in unpaid taxes.An official in the Inland Revenue Department, Jack le Roux, will head the project while 10 private audit firms have been engaged to conduct the necessary work on behalf on the Ministry of Finance.In an interview with The Namibian yesterday, Finance Permanent Secretary Calle Schlett­wein said Government was committed to ensuring that all Namibians complied with tax regulations and laws.He added that the audit would also look into possible shady dealings by Government officials, adding that the Ministry had received reports which had led it to include civil servants in the investigations.”The tax audits on taxpayers reporting to the Windhoek regional office have started now, as all the necessary arrangements have been made in this regard.The forensic audits will also focus on possible misconduct by officials, especially those who connived with taxpayers,” said Schlettwein.He said the groundwork for this project had started in April and the reassessing and forensic auditing would now begin.He could not indicate how long the exercise would take, except to say that it would be carried out in phases and that the first phase would determine the way forward.Schlettwein said those found guilty of evading tax or under-paying on their tax returns would be prompted to pay their dues, as the main objective of this exercise was “to get the money”.Those found to have engaged in fraudulent tax dealings would have to deal with law enforcement, he added.”Taxpayers will be contacted by telephone and letter to submit their records when an audit is conducted.Taxpayers will be expected to hand in their documents, accompanied by an inventory, to ensure proper record keeping of all documentation received,” he said.Schlettwein said a similar but smaller-scale exercise had been done before at Rundu – but would have to be repeated – while another one would be carried out at the Walvis Bay regional office.The audit will also investigate dealings by Government officials.All customs offices at border posts will also come under the spotlight.In the past, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has bemoaned revenue loss through a lax tax collection system.The Windhoek regional office accounts for most of the country’s taxpayers – besides individuals living in the Windhoek district, all companies operating in Namibia are registered under it.Although it is a first for the Windhoek office, a similar exercise was carried out at the Northern Regional Office at Oshakati last year, and Government managed to retrieve N$1,3 billion in unpaid taxes.An official in the Inland Revenue Department, Jack le Roux, will head the project while 10 private audit firms have been engaged to conduct the necessary work on behalf on the Ministry of Finance. In an interview with The Namibian yesterday, Finance Permanent Secretary Calle Schlett­wein said Government was committed to ensuring that all Namibians complied with tax regulations and laws.He added that the audit would also look into possible shady dealings by Government officials, adding that the Ministry had received reports which had led it to include civil servants in the investigations.”The tax audits on taxpayers reporting to the Windhoek regional office have started now, as all the necessary arrangements have been made in this regard.The forensic audits will also focus on possible misconduct by officials, especially those who connived with taxpayers,” said Schlettwein.He said the groundwork for this project had started in April and the reassessing and forensic auditing would now begin.He could not indicate how long the exercise would take, except to say that it would be carried out in phases and that the first phase would determine the way forward.Schlettwein said those found guilty of evading tax or under-paying on their tax returns would be prompted to pay their dues, as the main objective of this exercise was “to get the money”.Those found to have engaged in fraudulent tax dealings would have to deal with law enforcement, he added.”Taxpayers will be contacted by telephone and letter to submit their records when an audit is conducted.Taxpayers will be expected to hand in their documents, accompanied by an inventory, to ensure proper record keeping of all documentation received,” he said.Schlettwein said a similar but smaller-scale exercise had been done before at Rundu – but would have to be repeated – while another one would be carried out at the Walvis Bay regional office.