Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibia Institute of Professional Accountants (NIPA) has appealed to the Minister of Finance, Iipumbi Shiimi, and the Commissioner of the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRa), Sam Shivute, to extend the tax relief programme for at least 12 months.
In the request, signed by NIPA Chief Executive Officer Essie Herbst and President Brune Pretorius, the institute said numerous challenges hinder the tax collection process.
One of these is the impact of the National State of Emergency and Covid-19, as it “led to many people not being able to gain access to their company records as they were required to work in one way or another from home”.
The institute pointed out that this also hindered the Ministry’s officials from performing their duties. NIPA said NamRa, which came into force during April 2021, inherited many challenges and therefore needs “sufficient time to establish itself within the tax framework and to win the trust of taxpayers”.
Nonetheless, it commended NamRa for its efforts to educate the nation of tax affairs, but noted that “one should bear in mind that many taxpayers do not have the capacity or knowledge to understand tax laws and their obligation towards the tax system”.
NIPA also extended its appreciation to the Ministry of Finance and NamRA for implementing the Integrated Tax Administrative System (ITAS). However, NIPA pointed out that the process of switching and launching the ITAS system created costs for taxpayers and put a burden on tax practitioners who have to assist taxpayers.
The institute highlighted that the Ministry’s officials still have to perform many duties, despite the introduction of the self-assessment system. The officials are therefore “overwhelmed by requests to perform their duties and a delay is caused by the tremendous backlog,” the institute pointed out.
Given these challenges, NIPA made a request to allow NamRa to fully implement its systems, appointments and strategies to be more user-friendly and asked the Ministry of Finance to extend the Tax Relief Period for at least 12 months. File photo for illustrative purposes only.
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