By Omar Bah
The Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority, Yankuba Darboe, has said the government has no plans to increase taxes.
“As far as we are concerned, there will be no tax increments this year. Yes, there are few revenue measures we are taking to broaden the tax base so that those who are not within the tax bracket will come into it for us to be able to achieve our target,” CG Darboe told journalists last week.
He said the authority is not going to tolerate fake invoices because they cannot continue to accept people who blatantly evade tax.
“We want to clamp down on those who are submitting invoices that are not correct and by doing that, we think that would help us to achieve our target.”
He said GRA is not responsible for increasing or decreasing taxes.
“That is the responsibility of the ministry of finance and that has to go through the National Assembly who have the prerogative to accept or reject it,” he said.
He said if people voluntarily pay their taxes the authority will easily achieve its revenue target of D19.2 billion.
Revenue leakages
CG Darboe said GRA has introduced a number of systems including the Ayscuda World to block the leakages it has been experiencing.
“We also have a number of plans to introduce more measures that would increase our efficiency and ensure transparency,” he said.
He said though the compliance level is increasing, a lot of people are doing business but refusing to pay tax and that is making GRA’s work very difficult.
Declaration
CG Darboe said businesses are allowed to self assess and submit to GRA for approval. He said where the authority suspects wrong filing, they will go after businesses to ensure that they file the correct declaration.
Entertainment industry
He said the entertainment tax law has been here for a long time but the authority has not been particular about it but now that the revenue has increased, they have to come after all those who are supposed to pay tax.
“We have realised the entertainment industry has been making a lot of money but they have not been paying taxes. So now we want to implement the law because we feel it is a necessity,” he said.
He said international artists are coming and individuals are making money without paying taxes.
Duty charges
Reacting to claims that Senegal has cheaper duty charges compared to The Gambia, CG Darboe said: “No. We are not even charging close to what Senegal is charging. What you pay in Senegal for motor vehicle or containers is not even close to what we charge here. I think The Gambia remains the cheapest when it comes to duty charges and this is why we are considered a bouncing state, meaning businesses use The Gambia as transit for their goods.”
He said the ITax system funded by the World Bank set to be introduced this year for domestic taxes will be a top priority for GRA.
Rental tax
He said the authority will introduce GPS to track properties to ensure they pay their taxes through the rental. CG Darboe said the GRA is currently engaging a company to boost their rental income and hopefully soon their income in rental taxes will increase by 70 percent.
“We will start mapping out all the industries that are here to ensure that we track them,” he said. He said a digital weighing system has been installed at the ports to help weigh containers and other goods to be able to charge businesses properly.
“We also have e-tracking which monitors trucks from their point of departure to their destination,” he said.
