Juba, South Sudan
May 29, 2022 — South Sudan’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Agaak Achuil Lual, has ordered the country’s National Revenue Authority (NRA) to improve tax collection from all businesses to mobilize more funds for government projects.
The call came at the time the country is encountering serious inflations due to economic meltdown with fuel prices skyrocketing and dollar rates rising against the local currency (SSP) since last week.
Currently, $1 US dollar is equivalent to 470 South Sudanese Pounds.
Addressing the Press conference on Wednesday, Finance Minister ordered the NRA Commissioner-General to cease any further tax exemption to businesses to increase non-oil revenue collections.
“There are taxes which you are not collecting, please collect them. I am not seeing corporate tax coming from the hotels and the banks, and oil companies. I need sales tax and excise tax and business corporate tax and other taxes which you know,” Minister demanded.
“Please collect them, put them in the coffers of the government, and then I will be held responsible for what I am doing with that money. I know you are doing a good job, but I want you to do more, I want you to do more.”, Minister Lual said during the Press Conference.
Minister also recommended changing the name of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) to South Sudan Revenue Authority for conformity with other sisterly countries in the East African Community.
“We need to amend to South Sudan Revenue Authority. I am not just the one saying it, but we have to conform with East African countries. There is Kenya Revenue Authority, and there is Uganda Revenue Authority, but here we say National Revenue Authority. So, when you go for meetings in the region and you are asked where you are from, then you say you are from National Revenue Authority, you look odd among the people,” he noted.
“Let us say South Sudan Revenue Authority and we are demanding to change that such that we conform with our brothers in the East African Community,” Minister Agaak Achuil Lual justified. .
On the same day, NRA launched a five-year strategic resources mobilization plan to reduce over-dependence on oil revenues officiated by the country’s Vice President of Economic Cluster Prof. Dr. Gen. James Wani Iga.
