How e-payment will benefit taxpayers

The recently introduced online tax payment that is facilitated by commercial banks is the sort of development that will complement government’s efforts that are aimed at easing filing of tax returns by citizens. The initiative, which is a joint effort promoted by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and financial institutions, will help bring services closer to the people and reduce the cost of doing business. With this facility, taxpayers will be able to file their tax returns at any participating bank, using the newly introduced Internet-based platforms such as site-to-site mode. Site-to-site is where a bank’s website is linked to that of RRA to enable taxpayers file tax returns using the RRA website, mobile banking, Internet banking and over the counter, and then order their bank to pay the stated tax. The taxpayer only needs to bring the reference number issued by the RRA e-filing platform as a confirmation of a successful filing and present it to the bank teller who will then record the payment. The banks participating in this initiative are Kenya Commercial Bank, GT Bank, EcoBank, I&M Bank, Development Bank of Rwanda, CogueBank, Access Bank, Bank Populaire, Bank of Kigali and Equity Bank. Unguka Bank will come on board soon. This initiative that took effect this month (online payment of taxes) targets large and small-and-medium taxpayers. The good thing with this facility is that it will help traders reduce overheads that traders used to suffer previously. It will solve many problems, including long queues and the burden of taxpayers spending a lot of time and money in the process. It will also make it easier for taxpayers to maintain their tax and payment records over a long period. How it works The system has only five steps; once the taxpayer accesses the Internet, they download an online tax return, fill it and confirm the correctness of the return and then submits it to the tax body through the same online platform. Then one selects the bank you want to use for e-payment and follow instructions; after effecting the payment, a receipt and reference identification number will be issued as confirmation of payment. To use the new system, a taxpayer registers at their respective banks and gets a password and other guidelines to be able to access the facility. The secret password is important to ensure security for bank accounts data. To make the platform user-friendly, banks are in preparations to introduce a Kinyarwanda web page that will help those who do not speak English to also make online tax payments. The writer is the head of media and customer relations at Rwanda Revenue Authority