Namibians urged to submit their income tax returns early
Namibian employers started distributing PAYE 5 certificates to employees in March and individual tax returns for employees are due 30 June. Business individuals should submit their returns by 30 September.Taxpayers tend to leave it to the last minute to submit their tax returns, which can result in some annoying and expensive issues of like standing in long queues on 30 June to submit the returns.
When rushing to complete one’s tax return, one often makes mistakes. Errors and incorrect disclosures result in Inland Revenue raising queries, potential penalties and detailed audits on a tax return.
Only realising close to the deadline that you do not have all the required supporting documents means either submitting an incomplete return or missing the filing deadline.
Taxpayers lose their PAYE 5 certificates and have to request copies from payroll offices who, understandably, will not be happy about the unnecessary administrative burden.
In light of this, PwC Namibia recently launched a #FileTaxEarly campaign that encourages individual taxpayers to get a jump start on their taxes and file their returns early.
Idi Itope, director at Inland Revenue, commended PwC for pioneering the #FileTaxEarly campaign: “The campaign complements Inland Revenue’s objective of encouraging compliance in terms of filing of tax returns,” he says. “Receiving tax returns earlier, will give us ample time to deal with inquiries before due date and enable us to sort the returns in small batches that will be sent to the capturing units.”
Taxpayers who submit early will have their tax accounts updated in terms of receipt without necessarily waiting for the due date.
Itope thanked taxpayers for their willingness to be compliant by paying their taxes and rendering their tax returns on time, but mentioned some shortcomings pertaining to the submitted individual tax returns:
·Tax records and disclosures that do not cover the entire tax year. An assessment can only be concluded if the tax information relates to the entire tax year. In the event that a taxpayer was not employed for some part of the year, such a disclosure should be made by affirmation.
·Missing documents relating to retirement and study fund contributions as well as expenses deducted from the received allowances.
Stefan Hugo, PwC Namibia tax leader, added that in support of the campaign PwC's TaxTim (www.taxtim.pwc.com) will give a 15% #FileTaxEarly discount to taxpayers that complete tax returns during May 2016. “As there is no need to wait for a printed tax return in the post, you can get your tax sorted out well ahead of the deadline. We encourage taxpayers to complete their individual tax returns as soon as they receive their PAYE 5 certificates and other supporting documents.”