By Foday Moriba Conteh
Dr. Samuel S. Jibao, Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority, disclosed that the institution is in its final stages of pitching a unique national identification number for individuals in the country. The number will be unique to individuals and will be used to track transactions, payments and other business related activities that would attract tax implications. This unique identifier will neither be repeated nor will it be duplicated.
Samuel S. Jibao made that pronouncement during the signing of an MOU with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) which has data for almost every individual in the country. The signing of the MOU formalizes the engagement of the two institutions on biometric information asymmetry.
The Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) Mr. Mohamed M. Massaquoi cited the importance of signing an MOU with the National Revenue Authority and also affirmed their commitment and readiness in making sure they work in collaboration to enhance the work of the Tax administration through digital sharing. He stated that both institutions are very important Government parastatals and therefore should collaborate to get the best outcomes in public service.
The MOU is expected to cover data sharing which is very key in the implementation of the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) and the Electronic Cash Register System (ECRS) which require a unique identifier to make it sustainable. “Taxation is not done in a vacuum” Dr. Jibao said. He further cited that tax administration is about systems, laws and data and hence linking these systems is the essence of the signing of the MOU.
