KIMIHURURA - The Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has set a target of Frw264.8bn in projected tax collections this year. This was disclosed yesterday by RRA Commissioner General, Mary Baine. "After studying the performance of the economy, we came up with a target of Frw264.8bn this year which is higher than that of last year,” Baine said during a press conference at the RRA offices in Kimihurura. Last year, RRA collected Frw248billion from both taxes on goods and services. That was way beyond the tax body’s set target of Frw220billion at the being of the year.

However, Baine said that the 2008 target would be subject to review in the first quarter of evaluation.

The targeted incomes, she said, would be collected through ensuring efficiency and levying tax payers who made profits in their business transactions, not those that registered losses.   

On taxation, Baine said that traders who operate near border posts would this year be required to have their goods taxed at borders to avoid wastage of time and long queues that usually characterize revenue collection points.
However, the commodities that will have to be cleared at the border posts will have to be valued at less than Frw 1million.

"We shall have a pre- clearance system where a trader can pay in advance for the goods he intends to import. As soon as they (goods) arrive at the national warehouse (Magerwa), he just walks way with them,” she said.
  
She added that RRA would this year put much emphasis on increasing interaction seminars with tax payers in a bid to understand further the challenges they face.  
She cited rapid growth of the informal sector, smuggling of goods and tax evasion as key areas that RRA would put more attention to.

Ends