This week, Rwandans and Friends of Rwanda across the world celebrated Liberation Day on 4Th of July with many young people seeking ways that they can continuously contribute to national development. While the current youth are unlikely to be called to go to battle like their parents were during liberation, the current role is largely around nation building on the foundation of their predecessors. Among the ways that Rwandans of all walks of life can support national development is by tax compliance. Towards the end of June, 2021/22 budget worth an estimated Rwf3.8 trillion was presented to parliament and passed. The budget is expected to be 67 per cent domestically funded, an equivalent of Rwf2.5 trillion. Of these, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has a target to raise a sum of Rwf1,774.1 billion which is 46 per cent of the national budget. While the budget grew, given the prevailing social economic conditions, the government did not raise the taxes levied against various products and services as it would have driven the cost of living. It is also apparent that some sectors will not be in position to contribute as much as they did in previous years, for instance tourism and hospitality sectors. With that, the Revenue Authority resulted in compliance improvement in the financial year to raise collections. With that, rather than increase funds levied, the key is to ensure all eligible tax payers under various categories do their part. This would be a great show of patriotism by contributing to national development. Ensuring tax compliance can be exhibited in a range of ways, small and big including ensuring that one honours all their tax obligations and only doing business with those who do(asking for an EBM receipt when making purchases).
