IRC: Accounts mixed

By DALE LUMA
INTERNAL Revenue Commission (IRC) acting commissioner-general Sam Koim says some foreign companies operating in the country are using personal accounts to make business transactions.
Koim told the Start-Up PNG 2019 convention yesterday at APEC Haus in Port Moresby that businesses were required to have an account separate from a personal account to make business transactions and foreign companies should comply with this.
“We are getting information from the banks so if you are using a personal bank account to do business transactions, we will know,” he said.
“If you start a business, you must use a business account so that there will be a record.
“Foreigners doing business are continuously doing this.
“So we are zooming the light in that direction and we are starting to take action.
“All must comply.
“You must not think that the country is an investment paradise where you predate, get everything out and you go away.” He also warned about illegal “phoenix” activities where companies try to avoid paying tax by abandoning one business and registering a new one.
“This kind of phoenix activities is on the rise and there is a lot of tax evasion going on in this area.
“The law has changed now so that we can go after the directors.”