MONOVIA – Tax practitioners in Liberia are commending the Government of Liberia(GoL) and President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for signing into law a bill calling for the establishment of the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners LITP.
By J. Emmanuel Bondo
The subsequent signing and publication of the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners’ Bill on April 1 came after legislative consideration to allow the body to function as an autonomous government agency.
President Boakai’s decision now gives the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners the legal mandate to train, regulate and educate individuals on tax-related issues.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, April 8, LITP’s Acting Vice President, Arthur Fumba, said the move will help the government provide quality services to taxpayers and enhance voluntary tax compliance.
Mr. Fumba assured the public of the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners’ steadfast commitment to assisting the government with the dissemination of tax policies for the development of the Country.
The Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners is charged with establishing local, county, or regional chapters across Liberia with representatives and offices, both within and outside of the Country.
Its sources of funding will include fees from individual members and institutions, monies provided by government subsidies through legislative approval, fees charged in the performance of the functions of the Institute, donations, and grants from national and international organizations.
Officers of the Institute include Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Technical Director, Comptroller along with officers who will be recruited through a competitive process by the Executive Director, in consultation with the Council, based on established criteria.
The Act establishing the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners also notes that the President, Vice-President, and the Council Person be elected into office by members of the Institute at an annual general meeting.
It emphasized that the President, Vice President and Council Person, upon being elected to office, shall by that fact, be deemed to have also been elected as representatives of the Institute on the Governing Council.
The Act further maintained that the President, Vice-President, and Council Person shall each hold office for a term of two years from the date of their election, and be eligible for a second term of two years.
According to the instrument, the President is charged to serve as the chief spokesperson of the Institute, adding that such a person will preside over the meetings of members of the Institute.
Session 5.5 of the Act is quoted as saying “the Council may confer the title fellow of the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners” on a certified member of the Institute who has. acquired at least ten years of practical experience in taxation.
It also charges the newly established autonomous government agency’s council to confer the honorary title of Fellow of the Liberian Institute of Tax Practitioners on those who have made a significant contribution in furtherance of the objectives of the Institute.
The Tax body is also mandated to ensure that any of its members caught in false declaration, including false practices as a Certified Tax Practitioner, who receive payment under pretenses for the practice of taxation, should be warned, suspended, fined and expelled.
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