By Bida Elly David
The commissioner general of the national revenue authority (NRA) has reported number of encroachment by other government institutions into their affairs noting that the authority does not require any permission to implement the taxation act since there is already the law.
This development came during the performance review workshop meant to evaluate the activities of the national revenue authority in relation to recommendations on improvements.
Speaking during the event, Patrick K. Mugoya the commissioner general of the NRA revealed that they have been undergoing number of interventions by government tax agencies into the policies of the institution.
“We need to sit down, find ways and collect those arrears because some of them are with well-established companies. Some of those companies don’t pay personal income tax and withholding from the employees. It is just for us NRA to get the money,” he said.
Mugoya said NRA employees have severally been arrested on the account that they have never been complying with the law adding that NRA will never give space or chance for anyone to run the internal affairs of the institution.
“The excuses that the city council or the state does not allow us cannot work. We don’t need permission to implement the taxation act from anybody. We can’t ask for permission to implement what is already in the law,” he echoed.
NRA commissioner general said the institution has got cumulative unpaid arrears with companies that formerly made promises to do clearance but failed warning them that legal measures are going to be applied to ensure payment of all the tax arrears is made.
Mr. Mugoya disclosed that his employees were previously accused of confiscating and selling properties of tax payers who have arrears with the NRA especially some well-organized petroleum companies.
“People have been arrested for having not complied with the law but I want to see ceasing of property, bank accounts of tax payers who are in arrears auctioning their properties so that we pay government’s debts because this is what the law wants us to do. We have not done it. We need to look into ways to collect those arrears,” he hinted.
Mugoya said the NRA last year had a record performance where they collected over SSP 17 Billion in October 2022 and SSP 16.5 Billion in December last year noting that much improvement is expected to rise this year’s collection.