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The Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority had to increase its tax refund targets in 2008 so it could provide timely refunds to businesses, says board chairman Peceli Vocea.
He said the authority, for the first time, surpassed its refund targets.
Vocea said income tax refunds exceeded its forecast by $1.2 million and were 10 per cent higher than what was paid out in 2007.
He said VAT refunds exceeded the budgeted level by around $7 million and was 5.5 per cent higher than in 2007.
“This measure significantly affected net revenue collection but was an initiative taken by the board in consultation with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the business sector is assisted,” Vocea said.
Another positive achievement for the authority last year was the reduction in debt levels.
He said as at December 31 last year, the debt level was around $86.3 million, a decline of 18.1 per cent compared to 2007.
“This debt level is the lowest ever achieved in the history of the authority since its establishment in 1999. In the last eight years prior to 2008, debt levels have remained above $100 million,” Vocea said.
In addition, he said the cost of collection, another measure of FIRCA’s performance, was 2.28 cents for every dollar of revenue collected.
He said the cost of collection declined by 4.6 per cent compared to 2007, indicating an improvement in FIRCA’s performance.
“Overall, the FIRCA Board was satisfied with FIRCA’s performance and achievements in 2008, despite operating under a challenging environment and keeping in mind the huge impact of the revenue measures implemented by Government on June 1, 2008,” Vocea said.
He also revealed that the board had approved a bonus payment of 2.6 per cent to all non-contracted staff for their 2008 performance.
“The Board believes that a performance bonus pay out is timely and will provide an incentive to staff and a much needed stimulus for better revenue collection in 2009,” he said.
