IRC announces TIN deregistration exercise to address tax noncompliance

Out of the 220 thousand plus registered Taxpayer Identification Number or TIN holders in the country, only about 16% have been paying taxes or lodging their returns.

Another 84% have not been fulfilling their tax obligations.

Internal Revenue Commission’s Commissioner General Sam Koim in a statement clarified that the TIN deregistration exercise announced recently is aimed at addressing this.

Mr Koim said the deregistration exercise is not intended to close down businesses or harm small business enterprises, but to verify the number of TIN holders that are actually doing business around the country.

This through a nationwide taxpayer mapping exercise conducted for provinces over the last two years.

Mr Koim explained that the majority of the TIN from the mapping exercise could not be verified, thus, deregistration will help the clean up its register as well as focus its resources on taxpayers who are conducting business.

“We urge the general public to also understand that the impending TIN deregistration exercise is essential for maintaining a reliable taxpayer registration system and is not a desperate revenue-raising measure,” Koim said.

He made these remarks following numerous concerns from the general public on this exercise.

Mr Koim added that an active TIN comes with responsibilities of paying taxes or filing returns.