Public told not to fear paying IRC

By KEVIN PAMBA
PEOPLE should not fear the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) and look at it as the bread winner of the country, acting officer in charge for Madang and Vanimo, Fabian Yangen said.
He said this to visitors at the Divine Word University open day in Madang last Sunday.
Hundreds of visitors who flocked to the open day themed “Matching higher education the labour market” found a wealth of information from the IRC and other government and private organisations.
The government departments, agencies and private organisations  were at the institution in partnership with the university’s academic faculties.
Yangen said IRC earnings, through taxes, accounted for 50% of the national budget each year.
He added that, without IRC, the country would not function.
He said IRC did not exist to punish people through taxes as was often misconstrued.
However, he said, IRC played an important role that ensured the wealth created was taxed appropriately and redistributed to finance the affairs of the country.
“The IRC is challenged by the fact that there are organisations and individuals that escape paying the various taxes set by the government and it requires resources to rein in defaulters to pay,” he said.
The faculties of the university and their departments showcased their academic programmes and activities and had partners in the public and private sectors taking part with them.
The IRC was the guest of the faculty of business and informatics.
Yangen said that the IRC’s doors were always open and people should visit the its office nearest to them to learn more about its important role in the economy.