Of The Trouble To Get To Tax Compliance

Penalties, assessments, audits, notices; when did we get here? Why is the Revenue Authority suddenly tough on us? To be honest with you, this has been a long time coming. The process to file and review has been a tedious manual process, the documents to assess have been voluminous and in some cases, created to confound the team at the Revenue Authority.

Now, while all the world talks of fin-tech and innovation in service delivery, we all assumed that the government agencies would lag behind.

What a blow our fantasy worlds have taken with the realisation that one of the first government agencies to evolve is the Revenue Authority. Computation of taxes is usually done under the guidance of specific tax laws. Your interpretation of the treatment of a line item in your books of accounts may differ significantly with the Revenue Authority’s take on the matter. It is well within your right to argue out your position with the understanding that the two opposing sides may be seeing things differently.

However, if there were instances where someone in your organization was careless and made omissions or understated figures, and you think that your past is behind you, then you, my friend, have a date with evolution!

I put it to you that with the coming of 5G and Artificial Intelligence, the Revenue Authority will be able to calculate your tax projections on a daily basis based on the data received relating to invoices you have issued and those you have received.

Do it right the first time. The Revenue Authority is fast evolving and there are continually improved systems that will speed up the assessment processes. So my word to you is, get an advisor. Get a firm grasp on all the tax heads that impact your business operations and document all your assumptions.