By Mustapha Sesay
The Acting Director of Monitoring, Research and Planning at the National Revenue Authority (NRA) says Sierra Leone is losing to mining companies “tax revenue vital in economic development”.
Dr. Philip Michael Kargbo was responding to a question asked at a panel discussion organized by the Economics Society at the Mary Kinsley Auditorium, Fourah Bay College.
He said that out of the about Le 1.5 trillion collected in tax revenue in 2011, less than Le 300 billion came from the mining sector, adding that in 2012, out of the nearly 2 trillion collected by the NRA in tax, only Le 451 billion came from the mining sector including royalty, income tax revenue and some aspects of custom duties, which he said was as a result of “exemptions and tax holidays these mining companies are enjoying”.
Dr. Kargbo said those companies were here to “reap” the country of its resources, adding that some of the agreements with government gave more tax freedom to the mining companies, including exemptions from corporate and goods and services taxes.
He said those tax holidays would continue up to 2022 calling them “unacceptable”.
He said the country had the potential to generate huge revenue from the mining companies but that was not visible at the moment, adding that the country was not moving in the right direction in terms of revenue generation.
However, the director of investment promotions at Sierra Leone Import and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) expressed a contrary view. Raymond Kai Gbekie said that a five-year tax waver could not compare to the job opportunities created for the unemployed in the country, which he said would bring revenue to the country by collecting tax and social security contributions from the salaries of those who would be employed by the various companies.
He said that more overseas companies were set to invest billions of dollars in the country, especially in the agricultural sector which he said would boost export.
