Employers told to pay back-tax relief to employees

Employers must adjust the Pay As You Earn (Paye) deducted from employees’ salaries to reimburse any over deducted taxes paid from 1 March.

In a statement issued on Saturday, finance and public enterprises minister Iipumbi Shiimi said it is the responsibility of employers to reimburse employees.

“The employer will deduct the reimbursed Paye from the monthly employee’s tax amount to be paid to the Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra),” said Shiimi.

According to Shiimi, this is to ensure that the total tax paid by employees is equal to what they should pay in the 2024/25 financial year, according to the adjusted tax tables.

The new tax brackets came into effect on 1 March, however, a law is yet to be gazetted.

During a Cabinet briefing in May, Shiimi said the new tax breaks he tabled in parliament during the national budget announcement may only reflect on employees’ payslips in October.

He said the proposed law still has to go through the process of approval and gazzetting before it comes into effect.

Additionally, those who have changed employment will have to claim a tax refund from Namra next year.

“Employees who have changed employment during the tax year and are no longer with their previous employers will have to claim a refund when submitting their 2025 return of income on or before 30 June 2025,” said Shiimi.

“In the exceptional cases where employers do not have sufficient employees’ tax payable from which amount they can deduct and refund those employees now falling in the revised tax-exempt threshold of N$100 000 annual remuneration, the employee will have to claim a refund when submitting their 2025 return of income on or before 30 June 2025,” said Shiimi

Employers will have to refund employees for any over deduction of Paye after the new tax rates are made a law.

The tax relief will see that Namibians paid N$100 000 and less per year are not liable to be taxed after the tax threshold was increased from N$50 000 to N$100 000.