Namra denies negotiating secret tax deals with SOEs, politicians

Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) commissioner Sam Shivute has refuted claims suggesting Namra is engaged in secret talks with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and specific politicians to waive their tax liabilities.

Activist Job Amupanda wrote to Namra in a letter dated 3 December seeking clarification on the issue.

Shivute, when speaking to The Namibian said the law doesn’t allow for SOEs’ tax write offs.

“We cannot do something that is not in the law. It is not true, it cannot be correct,” Shivute said.

Meanwhile, Amupanda said he is personally aware of negotiations taking place in secret to write off tax debts of SOEs.

“This financial mismanagement can only occur with prior assurances that Father Christmas, that is Namra, at the caprice of corrupt politicians, will write-off these millions,” Amupanda said in the letter.

Amupanda said the alleged negotiations with “corrupt, non-compliant” taxpayers are an offence to the Namibian Constitution.

“As thinking and current Namibians, we know that failure to pay tax owed to Namra came from financial mismanagement, non-compliance with tax laws and misappropriation of tax monies to corruptly fund international extravagant trips of these executives and corrupt politicians.”

Amupanda labelled the alleged negotiations as unlawful and corrupt, and chastised the executives of these institutions for not leading by example.

He said taxpayers will not accept resultant special treatment and discriminatory actions to reward select tax defaulters.

“Outcomes of these secret negotiations will thus be challenged and vigorously fought in the street and courts including following the very path and scale of these defaulters busy with secret negotiations with Namra,” Amupanda said.

Amupanda further said Namra is showing leniency to SOEs, while being tough on individual taxpayers, adding that Namra has even taken some tax defaulters to court.

“The agency is equally busy with several awareness campaigns on the importance and obligations to pay tax. These campaigns are good and have actually been effective and successful. The secret negotiations are thus shocking and self-defeating on the part of Namra and indeed tragic and fatal as will be realised in the fullness of time,” Amupanda said.

This issue arises at a time when the deputy minister of finance and public enterprises, Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, accused Namra of neglecting to probe the key individuals implicated in the alleged fraud within the state-funded medical aid provider.

The Namibian reported in October that the Public Service Employee Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas) disbursed over N$1 billion to ghost beneficiaries over a two-year period.

Hinda-Mbuende said Namra has had the information since December 2022, but there has not been any action.

“They are just chasing small fish, such as part-time farmers, but none of those paid by the government, [who] are not even paying over value-added tax (VAT), let alone income tax,” Hinda-Mbuende said at the time.

In response to this, the finance ministry said an investigation would be launched to determine the potential abuse of Psemas, warning that those found guilty of abusing the system would face the full wrath of the law.