‘Whole Country Depending on Us’: LRA Pushing For 2015/16 Revenue Target

Monrovia – The Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA)  Elfreda Stewart Tamba has challenged employees and staff of the Authority to exert all efforts in their respective roles to ensure that the revised revenue forecast for 2015/2016 is met.

“In your individual space, wheresoever you are sitting, do your work correctly so that we can collect the remaining revenue,” Commissioner General Tamba challenged employees last recently at the Authority’s quarterly general staff meeting.

The National Legislature approved US$622 million as the national budget for fiscal year 2015/16, but was revised downward by US$70 million after the global downturn in the mining and petroleum sectors, thereby setting a revised forecast at US$552 million.

Addressing employees and providing updates on revenue performance, Commissioner General Tamba said:

Total Revenue Collected

The LRA has as at April 30 collected US$453 million which is 81% of the revised target.

Domestic Revenue accounts for US$356 million or 79% of the total revenue collected while external resources accounts for 75.1 million or 16%. Consolidated cash brought forward accounts for US$22 million or 5%.

Collection Analysis

Of the total domestic revenue collected, Domestic Tax Department accounts for US$195.3 Million or 55%, while Customs Department accounts for US$160.7 million or 45% (Table 2).

The share of Domestic Tax Department in total revenue collected is 43%. Customs share is 35%. Major drivers in Domestic Tax Department are Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIT). Customs Department is driven by Import Duties, Domestic Excise Taxes and Other Customs Charges on Imports.

Balance to be collected is US$104.5 million broken down as follows:

Domestic Revenue US$60.2 million or 51%
External Resources US$42.2 million or 47%
Cash brought forward (On account of Maritime) US$2.2 million or 2%

Major areas of non-compliance are: Maritime which owes a total of US$12. 6 million and Dividend Budget Support from LPRC, which amounts to US$ 2.5 million.  LPRC had promised to make three equal instalments of US$ 833 thousand over the course of the fiscal year.

To date no amount has been paid with only one month to go. The LRA has made and continues to make efforts aimed at ensuring the payment to these revenues by fiscal year-end

Commissioner General Tamba also said that LRA has to ensure the collection of at least US$104.5 million before June 30, 2016 — the end of the current fiscal period.

In order to achieve the target, the Commissioner General told LRA employees that “… each LRA staff has to play his/her role effectively to ensure the balance is collected.

The whole country is depending on us to do that—our own people, citizens….the government, the legislature and the judiciary; As revenue collectors, we hold a very hot seat.”