Kaboneka calls for increased tax compliance

Local Government Minister Francis Kaboneka has called on citizens to always clear their tax obligations in time to facilitate the government’s budget planning. He was speaking Thursday to Musanze business community during Rwanda Revenue Authority’s ongoing Taxpayers Appreciation Day. He said that despite the commendable tax performance in the district, people should avoid tax evasion. “I am happy people are changing their understanding of tax payment. It is all thanks to the spirit we share in contributing to the country’s development. We should be having pride that local governments’ tax performance is progressing day by day with hope for better performance this fiscal year.” The Tax Appreciation Day is being celebrated under the theme “My tax, my development, my dignity.” 14 most compliant taxpayers in Musanze were recognized as a way of appreciating their continued commitment to paying taxes. According to Rwanda Revenue Authority, revenues in Musanze increased from Rwf 250 million in 2004 up to over Rwf 11 billion in the 2016/17 fiscal year. Pascal Bizimana Ruganintwali, RRA Deputy Commissioner General and Commissioner for Corporate Services, hailed Musanze’s tax performance, encouraging the northern region business community to embrace the use of Electronic Billing Machines (EBM) to facilitate efficient evaluation of tax payment process. “EBM has really improved exponential growth in VAT as the government has invested a lot of money in automation to close leakages in tax to facilitate taxpayers. However, the machines use is still low, which is the reason I encourage you to use them to bridge such big gaps in tax paying automation as a really trusted, efficient and professional approach that improves tax compliance in your everyday business management,” said Ruganintwali. During the fiscal year 2016/17, taxes worth Rwf16.5 billion were collected from the Northern Province, which new Governor Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi looks to increase this fiscal year. “I believe there is potential to perform better than we did last year without hindering income of the business community as long as they use EBMs in their businesses in big numbers,” he said. The Taxpayers Appreciation Day kicked off last week in Rubavu District, where best performing taxpayers are being recognized as a way of inspiring the rest of the business community. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Kaboneka calls for increased tax compliance