Tax amnesty set
HALF a billion dollars worth of assets previously unaccounted for were declared following the passing of a law to establish a tax amnesty scheme designed for Fijians to declare all their assets held overseas
Attorney-General and Minister for Finance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, in his 2016 National Budget address, said there was a need to do a better job of collections as there was a significant leakage in Fiji’s tax system.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said much income went unreported through the informal economy or through simple tax evasion because of the lack of a credible system to encourage or compel tax compliance.
“We will invest $5million in technology for the Ministry of Finance and FRCA to ensure better reporting and compliance, including a system to link FRCA to cash registers so that retail and wholesale transactions will automatically and in real time be reported. It is only fair.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government was simply not collecting all the revenue it should be collecting.
“The very positive response to this amnesty, in a short period of time, has compelled us to offer a similar amnesty for all Fijians to declare assets owned here in Fiji that they have not declared previously, including assets held in the name of others but for the benefit of someone else.
“Furthermore we have many citizens who have not fulfilled their tax obligations because they have not filed or paid due taxes pertaining to previous taxable periods. We want to give them, through this budget, an equal and a last opportunity to voluntarily come forward to pay the due taxes by the end of December 2015. Late lodgement and late payment penalties will be waived in full,” he said.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said tax avoidance and tax evasion were problems the Government would attack aggressively through collection and by reform.
He said the FRCA would develop a tax agents code of ethics for tax agents to ensure that everyone understood the rules and the conduct required of tax agents.
“Then there will be no excuse for dishonesty. And agents will be held accountable for the advice they give their clients and their companies,” he said.
