Amnesty nets $0.5b in 6 weeks
A TAX amnesty introduced by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority netted the Government more than half a billion dollars within a span of six weeks.
This was revealed by Attorney-General and Minister for Finance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum during his closing remarks at the 17th A-G’s Conference in Natadola last Saturday.
“We put in place a provision where Fijians who owned assets off-shore were given an amnesty where if they declared their offshore assets, there would be no penalties and there would be no clawing-back in terms of the assessable income from those assets,” he said.
“And within a span of six weeks, over half a billion dollars worth of assets were declared.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji had one of the lowest tax rates in the Pacific region and there was no need for individuals and businesses to be dishonest about their earnings and assets.
He added there were two more amnesties available — one for those who had not filed tax returns and paid taxes, and another for those who have been hiding assets in Fiji under other names.
While opening the conference on Friday, President Jioje Konrote called on the more than 400 legal practitioners to advise clients to pay their tax obligations.
“Here is where your duty to your client and your duty to the law is often tested,” he said.
“Legitimate avoidance of taxes for a legitimate purpose cannot be confused with tax evasion — with the corrupt manipulation of accounts and the deliberate concealment of income for the purpose of tax cheating. It must stop.”
