Provinces urged to use GST funds properly

PROVINCIAL governments are urged to properly use the goods and services tax (GST) funds given to them by the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC).
Commissioner-general Sam Koim said this when commenting on an article published in The National on Tuesday titled “City allocates over K14 million from tax to maintain roads”.
Koim said 60 per cent of all the GST collected from the provinces was given back to the provinces, to support their budgets.
He said the IRC did the distribution monthly to each province.
Koim added that GST was collected from business activities in each province.
Therefore, he said as part of the social contract, businesses that paid GST expected the Government to create a conducive environment for doing business.
Koim said businesses could not be expected to provide their own roads, address security issues, or maintain street lights, adding that they paid their taxes for the Government to provide these services.
“More often, we find provincial governments getting the tax money and forgetting the very businesses that paid that money,” he said.
“We have received so many complaints from our taxpayers.
“I am, therefore, urging the provincial governments to use a good portion of the GST funds to improve the services in the towns and cities that produce the GST.
“The Lae City Authority is a success a story where, with the blessing of Governor Ginson Saonu, 20 per cent of the Morobe government’s GST portion is given to LCA to improve services in Lae City.
“LCA, under the leadership of MP John Rosso, is putting that money to good use.”