SMEs told to pay taxes

SMALL to medium enterprises (SMEs) should be 100 per cent tax-compliant to access Government’s planned economic stimulus packages, says deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil.
Basil said to qualify, the SMEs shoul have an existing relationship and positive history of compliance with the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) and Investment Promotion Authority (IPA).
“I have directed my (Commerce and Industry) department to compile a report on the disbursement of the K200mil loan to rescue SMEs in 2020 as I remain unconvinced that the strategies and mechanisms adopted by the financial institutions tasked to disburse the first K200mil were effective or consistent with the Government’s key priority to support PNG families,” he said.
Basil directed the department, IPA and the SME Corporation to work with the IRC to:

• IDENTIFY well-performing, tax-paying and legal/regulatory compliant SMEs based on IRC data and IPA data;
• ASCERTAIN the impact of Covid-19 on tax paying capacity;
• ASCERTAIN the kind of assistance that may be required;
• APPRECIATE which sector these SMEs are located in, regions and provinces/districts they do business and their ownership; and,
• HOW many of them have benefitted from the loans disbursed by BSP, NDB and DCI grants.

“The data collected by the IRC will provide the statistics needed for the diagnostic tool to assess the performance and eligibility of compliant PNG taxpayers,” he said.
“The data collected will also assist us to measure the strengths and weaknesses of tax compliance and business certification in PNG.”