Business Reporter
A LOBBY group called Tax Talk Namibia has called upon the Minister of Finance, Iipumbu Shiimi, and the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) on behalf of the Namibian taxpayer community to consider an extension of the Tax Amnesty programme, as they say that administrative bottlenecks in the state’s tax collection agency have hindered the processing of their payments.
According to statistics provided by NamRA in April 2024, a total of 235,505 taxpayers were in arrears with the Namibia Revenue Agency, amounting to N$79 billion.
The Lobby Group has dispersed a petition which against the impending tax amnesty deadline asking for an extension.
The Tax Amnesty programme is ending on 31 October 2024, with the state tax collection agency, NamRA, sending daily reminders, emails, and social media campaign posts about the deadline. However, the lobby group argues that the main source of delays is not being addressed.
“Revisions and audits, which have a direct impact on the outcome of a taxpayer’s tax amnesty registration, are still pending. Some requests date back four to five years,” Tax Talk Namibia said.
The lobby group said that revisions are still ongoing due to the large number of returns to be revised by NamRA officials.
“The delay is not on the taxpayers’ side; it is on NamRA’s side due to insufficient planning systems, limited officials, and inadequate customer feedback. Most revisions are a result of (ETX) data not being captured or assessed correctly on the ITAS system. ETX data from some employers are still incorrect or missing. Either these employers do not intend to or do not know how to revise ETX data, nor do they want to contract professional services for assistance. These employers do not respond to employees’ requests, and NamRA does not have an enforcement policy in place to assist taxpayers with uncooperative employers,” Tax Talk Namibia said.
They added that some PAYE5 certificates are lost or not provided by some employers.
“These employers do not respond to employees’ requests, which results in the taxpayer being unable to submit outstanding returns. NamRA does not have an enforcement policy in place to assist taxpayers with uncooperative employers. Audits on returns are still pending due to the large number of audits to be completed. Approved revisions are automatically converted to ‘to be audited’ returns. Audits are delayed due to limited officials, inadequate customer feedback, or time constraints on NamRA’s side,” the lobby group said.
They further said that taxpayers do not have a direct communication line with the revision, audit, or recoveries departments.
“Phone calls and emails are not answered. Contact details of all officials with tax number section ranges allocated to them should be published and updated regularly on the website. Taxpayers are treated or spoken to as if NamRA officials have the higher authority. They probably do, but they are still required by law to deliver efficient and respectful customer service. Taxpayers should be assisted at and by any NamRA office, irrespective of where the file is registered and located. NamRA does not have clear and precise procedures in place for revisions and audits. The procedures are changed regularly and not communicated to taxpayers. NamRA should implement a nationwide detailed standard procedure for revisions and audits for all offices and departments, publish a step-by-step guide on the website, and communicate any changes immediately to taxpayers,” Tax Talk Namibia suggested.
The group concluded that the audit requirements and practice notes on all income and expense declarations and claims should also be published on the website and communicated to taxpayers to ensure the accuracy and correctness of submissions, avoiding unnecessary tax queries and revisions.
They further recommended that NamRA implement a CRM system where all calls, emails, and queries are logged with a specific case number and the contact details of the responsible NamRA official.
