By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the National Revenue Authority on the 27th October 2021 engaged representatives of the private sector in a consultative dialogue on the 2022 Finance Bill/Act that will be tabled in Parliament later this year by the Hon. Minister of Finance.
Principal Deputy Financial Secretary Mathew Dingie thanked members of the private sector for attending the meeting stating that their presence demonstrates their commitment to the process.
He furthered that the formation of both the Budget and Finance Acts involved lots of consultations and needs the inputs of all especially the private sector.
Addressing the issues raised by the private sector in the area of taxes and exceptions, Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority, Dr. Samuel Jibao applauded the move by the private sector to document and present their inputs into the process but also cautioned them that the tax rates are competitive and among the lowest in the sub-region.
In his statement, the Financial Secretary, Sahr Jusu, stated that before now Finance Acts were done behind closed-door with little or no inputs from the private sector.
He said that has changed in the last 2 years as the Ministry of Finance and the National Revenue Authority are now opening the space for more dialogue and discussions with major stakeholders from the formation of the Revenue Tax Policy to the implementation.
He continued that while the Government is mindful of the fact that businesses need the right atmosphere and policies to grow, the Government on the other hand has the responsibility to raise revenue and provide social services.
The Financial Secretary also stated that the Government is not thinking of increasing taxes but rather improving on compliance and automation of the process to increase domestic revenue generation.
Chief Economist, Alimamy Bangura, stated in his submission that taxation is the only sustainable means of Government revenue noting that a Government can be best assessed by its ability to raise revenue to deliver social services.
He furthered that the objective of the FY2022 Finance Act is to generate revenue, create ease of doing business and investment, and stimulate post-COVID-19 growth.
Speaking on the side of the private sector representative, Chukwu-Emeka Chikizie, Team leader Invest Salone thanked the Financial Secretary, Staff of the Ministry of Finance, and the National Revenue Authority for such a platform, stating that this is the first time they are having such dialogue with Government on the formation of tax policies that will affect them.
He continued that they are also mindful of the fact that Government needs to raise revenue but also stated that Government should put in place policies that will remove barriers and make the business environment and investment conducive.
Alfred Akibo-Bett also from Invest Salone applaud the initiative of the dialogue and also stated that 13 out of the several recommendations they made last year were part of the FY2021 Finance Act passed by Parliament.
The consultative meeting attracted a range of private sector players from Invest Salone, Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Importers, Exporters, National Investment Board, and other Government MDAs.
