FRCS Targets $3.1Billion in Revenue Collection
The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service is set to meet its revenue collection target of $3.1 billion for the 2017 financial year.
And FRCA director Corporate Services Fazrul Rahman says this target is possible because of several factors including the Government’s simple tax laws.
Speaking at the 19th AttorneyGeneral’s Conference held over two days at the InterContinental Fiji Golf and Spa Resort, Mr Rahman said what used to take long to achieve was much easier because of stringent measures put in to safeguard Fiji and her economy. “Government has introduced simple tax laws, we have improved Fiji Revenue and Customs Service processes, we are venturing into a new IT system and of course we have improved engagement with the tax paying community,” Mr Rahman said.
The continuous encouraging growth of the Fiji economy as a whole played a significant role in FRCS meeting this target. “The economy is growing, we are getting foreign investors into Fiji businesses which is good for the economy and at the same time we have to ensure that the relevant taxes are being accounted for,” he said.
“The economy has been growing over the last 10 years so generally there is a rapid tax collection because the economy is growing but generally we are doing compliance activity which we have not done in the past, for example, there are big audits happening. For the past few months we have been doing audits and we are confident that if we go down this path there is a lot of revenue that can be collected.”
The money expert said with the increase in Government spending came the opportunity for more growth in the economic sector.
Out of the projected $3.1billion, collection from Value Added Tax (VAT) is expected to be $1billion.