Rwanda Revenue Authority has revealed that only 7.2 percent of motor vehicle owners in Rwanda have managed to fulfil their tax obligations of paying road license tax. Road license tax is usually payable annually between January and March 31 of each year. According to the statistics provided by the Motor Vehicle Division of the tax body, since January 2009 to date, only 5200 vehicle owners out of 71,594 have paid road license. This implies that, if taxpayers responded positively, RRA would serve about 1,619 people per day. According to RRA, this number is subject to increase once taxpayers do not turn up as expected but currently smaller numbers of 5 to 10 people are served per day. From the calendar, there are only 40 days to the deadline and if taxpayers do not turn up in big numbers in this remaining time to clear up their tax dues, it will slow down RRA services, the officials complain. “Taxpayers have a tendency of turning up on the last day in big numbers expecting to be served promptly, yet our staff have been almost redundant because of this low turn up,” said Richard Dada, the head of Motor vehicle division He urged all taxpayers to comply and pay as soon as possible to enjoy better services. “We call upon every person concerned to comply in any way possible in order to meet our goals as set forth.” He also appreciated some companies and diplomatic missions that have already submitted their list of vehicles for payment. Dada also said that, in a bid to provide quality services, taxpayers paying road license are instantly given their tax stickers “vignette” after payment. He added that payment and issuance of tax stickers has been decentralized to all RRA districts offices in the country. In regard to motor vehicle road license tax rates, he explained that what an individual paid for his/her vehicle last year will be the same amount payable this year. However, there are provisions to harmonize motor vehicle legislation laws with other regional bodies in order to improve on service delivery. Ends
