Tubmanburg – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Wednesday September 21, 2016 kicked off a two-day stakeholders’ regional dialogue on domestic resource mobilization in Tubmanburg City, Bomi County.
The September 21-22 Tubmanburg dialogue, which brought together tax stakeholders from Bomi, Grand Cape Mount as Gbarpolu counties, as well as Lower Montserrado, is the second in a series of four regional dialogues to be held, involving the 15 political subdivisions of the country.
The first was held in Buchannan City, Grand Bassa County, bringing together stakeholders from Sinoe, Rivercess and Grand Bass Counties.
Launching the dialogue in Tubmanburg on behalf of Commissioner General Elfrieda Stewart Tamba, LRA Assistant Commissioner for Medium, Small and Micro Tax Division, Sebastian Weah, said it was time for Liberians to brace themselves to fund their own development priorities rather than depending on outside funding.
Extending the Commissioner General’s warmest greetings to the stakeholders, Mr. Weah said the dialogue was intended to solicit their views on improving domestic resource mobilization.
“We have come to hear from you, to get your suggestions and to advise us on how we can improve our services and you can become more compliant in paying taxes as we together raise resources to develop our country,” the Assistant Commissioner noted.
The superintendents of Bomi (Samuel Browne), Gbarpolu (Armah M. Sarnor), Grand Cape Mount (Tenneh Kpedebeh) as well as the Assistant Superintendent for Development of Montserrado County (Sylvester S. Lama) in separate remarks applauded the LRA initiative and pledged to engaged their citizens and businesses in their domains to be tax compliant.
The regional dialogues are expected to increase much-needed awareness on citizen’s national responsibility to pay their taxes and the need to widen the revenue base in order to expand the fiscal space necessary to facilitate for the national development..
The dialogues are intended to solicit suggestions, comments and recommendations from participants which will inform the structure and organization of the country’s first-ever national revenue summit slated for late November this year.
The planned National Revenue Summit is intended to stimulate a culture of voluntary tax compliance and to raise awareness on the importance of Domestic Resource Mobilization in light of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.