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WHAT SHOULD A TAXPAYER DO WHEN FACED WITH CHALLENGES IN PAYING TAXES?
The current economic slowdown is exerting several pressures on many businesses in terms of their ability to meet their tax obligations on a timely basis, and yet the legal obligation to pay tax on a timely basis is the same for all businesses.
A few days ago, URA closed among others, Good African Coffee, for non-payment of taxes. This kind of exposure is not good for the reputation of a business, and no taxpayer should allow themselves to get exposed for tax non-compliance especially when it is generally perceived that such a business is “doing well”. URA may be sympathetic to occasional cash flow difficulties caused by exceptional events but they cannot and will not accept an ongoing failure to meet tax commitments and allow a business to continue to trade and accumulate further tax debts. Taxpayers therefore need to take note of the following insights.
The role of URA while administering the tax laws is to ensure, among other things, that tax revenue is assessed and collected in a timely manner, considering that a shortfall in revenue impacts on the level and timeliness of financial resources available to Government. URA therefore expects taxpayers to organise their financial affairs to ensure that they pay their tax debts by the due date.
While taxpayers can and do encounter cash flow problems, these problems must be addressed so that timely tax compliance is assured. Addressing those problems in consultation with URA at the earliest opportunity is essential so as to avoid a situation where the tax debt becomes overwhelming and enforcement by URA becomes inevitable. The bottom line is that early and realistic engagement with URA is necessary when tax compliance problems begin to emerge. If you do not agree that you owe the tax demanded, or you believe it should be a lot less, you should notify URA immediately, and ensure that you do everything possible to pay the agreed tax or reach an agreement with URA about paying the tax by instalments. If you opt for instalment payment, remember that each instalment payment will include interest, and this will entail an additional financial cost for the business. Accordingly it is in the interest of a business or a taxpayer to minimise its exposure to interest by paying as much of the debt up front and any balance over the shortest possible timescale. With such an approach, you maximise the opportunity of arriving at a successful and early resolution of any compliance difficulties in a way that will meet with URA’s approval. Sluggishness in recognising or addressing tax compliance problems merely serves to exacerbate the compliance challenge for taxpayers.
When negotiating with URA, it is really important that a taxpayer understands what precisely is giving rise to the particular difficulties in meeting their tax payment obligations. This will greatly determine the scope for positive action and measures by the business itself to overcome those difficulties and will ultimately dictate the scale of the challenge it faces. Recognising or accurately identifying the specific pressure points will give URA a clearer understanding of key issues relevant to deciding on an agreed approach going forward. The ready availability of such information in discussions with URA will show in a very tangible way the serious commitment of the taxpayer to managing the challenge as a whole, and to dealing with the problem in a transparent and meaningful way.
Enforcement action to recover a tax debt through closure is normally taken by URA where a taxpayer fails to engage them in a satisfactory manner. Where the engagement with URA is sluggish or less than frank and realistic, or where commitments entered into are not fulfilled, URA then has little option but to initiate the necessary collection and enforcement measures needed to address that problem, and trust me, the options are many. URA has at its disposal a range of enforcement powers to effect recovery of a debt. The most frequently used enforcement options are closure and attachment of bank accounts. They will move swiftly to apply the necessary measures to address that lack of engagement or that failure to fulfil the commitments agreed.
URA would be failing in their statutory duty if they simply allowed a business experiencing difficulties in paying its tax debts, to stop paying its taxes and continue trading. Businesses or taxpayers who do not pay their taxes as they fall due, or pay them late, are in effect using URA as an unauthorised source of credit. Apart from non-compliance being unacceptable from the taxman’s perspective, some will argue that in the interest of fairness and equity for businesses that are tax complaint and pay their taxes on time, URA must respond in an effective way. Each case is considered on its merits with a view to selecting the most effective collection, recovery or enforcement strategy to bring a case to compliance in the shortest possible timescale taking account of the individual case merits and features.
In this context, therefore, taxpayers must ensure that their tax position is always reconciled and up to date. Always undertake an early and proactive engagement with URA as soon as you start experiencing payment difficulties. Also consult with a tax professional @taslaf on how best to minimise and manage your tax debts.
