Tax amnesty programme records early wins

Defaulting taxpayers and entities owe the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) N$79 billion as of the end of March 2024, its commissioner, Sam Shivute, said.This follows the launch of its annual report for 2023/24 this week.Touching on the tax amounts due to the government, Shivute said defaulters owed N$49.3 billion in penalties alone.“As of 31 March 2024, the total debt amounted to N$79.3 billion, with N$16.8 billion attributed to capital, N$49.3 billion to penalties and N$13.1 billion to interest. Through the ongoing Tax Amnesty Programme, which commenced on 1 April 2023 and was supposed to conclude on 31 October 2024,” Shivute said.A total of 235 505 debtors stand to benefit from having their interest and penalties waived once they pay their outstanding capital tax amount.“To date, 89 398 taxpayers have participated in the programme, resulting in the collection of N$2.9 billion and the write-off of N$797 million in interest and N$17.1 billion in penalties,” he said.ParticipantsShivute last month announced that the tax amnesty programme, which was launched in April 2023, has generated N$4.3 billion in revenue.According to Shivute, a total of 128 060 taxpayers have participated in the programme, with the majority having already initiated payments.Businesses have contributed the most to the revenue, with N$4.01 billion, followed by individual taxpayers (N$164 million), trusts (N$51 million) and government institutions (N$31 million).ExtensionMeanwhile, Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi recently announced an extension to the programme, saying it was to strike a balance between revenue collection and encouraging investment in the economy.“With regard to the tax amnesty programme, which is due to expire this Thursday, 31 October 2024, we have received numerous calls for an extension from various sectors. In line with our commitment to strike a balance between collecting revenue and boosting the investment climate, we hereby extend the tax amnesty programme by another two years until 31 October 2026,” Shiimi said following the tabling of the mid-term budget last month.“The extension has considered the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced the income of many taxpayers. The relief value proposition remains unchanged; that is, interest and penalties will be fully written off if outstanding capital is fully settled before 31 October 2026,” he added.

Tax amnesty programme records early wins

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Tax amnesty programme records early wins

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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