Somalia president: We are coming for the rich for taxes

MOGADISHU - Somalia will no longer depend on foreigners for the sustainability of their economy, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced, while hinting at the introduction of more taxes which will specifically target the rich in the country as a measure to curb "imbalance" in tax collection.

At a Mosque on Friday, Hassan Sheikh said the country will no longer rely on the West for support, even as it struggles to get debt relief upon reaching the completion point. Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world at the moment, but it has come up with various stringent measures to handle public finance management.

"We cannot expect the blue-eyed man in England, a long-haired American in Washington, and an Arab in the Gulf to pay our bills," said Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is recently taking advantage of Friday prayers to take audit on the state of the nation.

Wealthy Somalis, he said, will have to bare the burden of taxation to cure disparity which has been a major concern over the years. Many wealthy people use the existing gaps and lacuna in the law to evade taxation, leaving the burden to the poor in society according to research by the Finance department.

The president discussed the disparity in the taxation system where someone who is making a $50,000 -$60,000 profit off the sale of one bulletproof vehicle is taxed a mere $5,000. He said an iPhone and a $30,000-worth vehicle are taxed the same. He said paying the taxes will help the government cover its own expenses.

He warned against the theft of public funds by government officials and people in positions. Recently, the government came up with measures which are set to better and improve the Public Finance Management which has been a toll order in the country due to runaway corruption, particularly in various departments of the government.

Somalia runs a budget of about $967 million and almost the whole estimates and proposals are funded by foreign nations and organizations such as the European Union, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, United Nations, and other well-wishers. Very little is collected from domestic revenue.

While presenting the 2023 budget, Treasury outlined various measures of collecting $250 million in the proposed estimates, including automation of tax collection services. A report by the United Nations recently revealed that the Al-Shabaab extortionists were able to collect more money than the government of Somalia.

The group is said to have the ability to collect up to $120 million annually through extortion and blackmail mainly from business people. The government recently blocked mobile money transfer firms and bank accounts associated with Al-Shabaab besides threatening to cancel business permits for tycoons who remit taxes to the militants.

GAROWE ONLINE