PM: We will sort out pay anomaly

BY REBECCA KUKU
PRIME Minister James Marape has assured members of the disciplined forces that the Government will sort out their pay deduction, which will be adjusted in next fortnight’s pay.
“To all the hardworking members of the disciplined forces, the concerns you raised have been heard,” he said.
“I have been informed that there were some deductions made to your salaries.
“The Finance Department will look into it immediately. It was certainly not a tax increase.”
He said every problem had a solution, and it was the Government’s duty to find solutions.
He also explained that the Government had not increased income tax since 2019, and has to give more relief to wage earners, such as removing personal income tax from those earning below K20,000.
He was responding to police officers who stopped work yesterday morning and gathered at the Unagi Oval to raise their concern over unexplained deductions in their pay.
He has already instructed the Finance department to find out why the deduction was made, and to rectify the issue immediately. .
Finance Secretary Samuel Penias said the deduction was caused by a “glitch” in the Government payroll system (Alesco).
He explained yesterday afternoon after Port Moresby was already in flames that the payroll system for Pay 01/2024 systematically automated back to the K17,500
tax-free threshold, resulting in public servants’ salary tax being affected.
The Government last year raised the tax-free threshold from K17,500 to K20,000 per annum “to provide relief to low and middle-class income wage earners”.
Penias assured public servants that they would receive a refund of the “tax overpayment” in next fortnight’s pay.