The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) says it is owed a total of N$73 billion in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest by taxpayers indicating losses in revenue.
The amount was revealed to President Hage Geingob during a visit of the tax collecting agency’s top brass to the State House on Thursday.
“Of the total, tax dues from individuals and corporations stood at N$73 billion as at 1 April 2023,” NamRA Commissioner Sam Shivute said.
Shivute said of the total, N$43 billion was in the form of penalties, N$16.5 billion in the form of capital and N$12.6 billion in the form of interest.
Shivute had previously stated there were taxpayers not fulfilling their obligations.
“We have noted that there are taxpayers who are not fulfilling their tax obligations. Some are submitting zero returns when they file their tax returns and there are some traders who intentionally under declare the value of their imports. It is important for our clients to submit their returns on time, declare accurately and pay their fair share of tax to the State,” he said.
The tax agency set a new deadline for its amnesty programme set for 31 October 2024 in which time it offered relief to taxpayers and the write-off of penalties and interest.
On the revenue end, Corporate Income Tax revenue collection stood at N$8.1 billion or 14% of revenue collected, Value Added Tax at N$14.1 billion or 25%, Personal Income Tax at N$16.1 billion or 28% and N$16 billion for tax collected emanating from international revenue sources.
Revenue collection from various industries stood at N$15 billion, with the retail sector contributing 29% of the total revenue, the financial sector with 27%, the mining sector with 22% and the manufacturing sector with 13%.
Also adding to NamRA’s coffers by sectoral contribution was the Information Communication Technology sector with 6%, and the fishing and agricultural sectors with 1% each respectively.
Revenue collection as at 31 March 2023 stood at N$66.4 billion gross, with refunds to the tune of N$8.7 billion having been paid back. Net revenue collection over the same period amounted to N$57.7 billion, Shivute said.
Reflecting on the visit to State House, NamRA spokesperson Steven Ndorokaze said the engagement was held to brief Geingob on the tax collecting agency’s progress since its establishment two years ago.
According to Ndorokaze, more scrutiny would be placed on certain mining companies to explore why tax collection in the mining sector was low. The fishing sector would also come under increased scrutiny, he added.
