Marape commends Koim’s leadership role with IRC

PRIME Minister James Marape has commended the leadership shown by the Internal Revenue Commission under Sam Koim in exceeding tax projections and transforming the commission.
Marape made these remarks following IRC’s reported total collection of K9.596 billion last year, exceeding its initial target by K375 million.
IRC launched its 2022 Annual Plan on Friday, where its 2021 achievements were released.
He said there was a clear vision to transform IRC into a robust, modern and efficient tax administration so that taxes can be collected at an optimal and sustainable level.
“Koim who has been a great advocate of improving governance in public institutions,” Marape said.
“Taking back PNG for IRC is proving a success where revenue leakages are being patched, and the right amount of taxes are being collected.
“The Government has not increased any taxes.
“All we are doing is taking ownership of what has always been lost, like the goods and services tax Section 65A project.”
He said eight months into office, his government had been hit by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which posed a serious threat to revenues. He said Covid-19 restrictions and their impact on the economy were genuine excuses for the IRC to perform below budgetary expectation but it had managed to surpass projected tax figures.
Meanwhile, Marape said he was aware that many state institutions had been affected due to Covid-19 restrictions but they needed to continue evolving to meet the challenge.