Gov’t of Ethiopia Committed to Effectively Collect Revenues in Modernized System

Addis Ababa: Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide underscored the readiness of the government to work attentively to collect revenues through a modern operating system in order to make the implementation of the macroeconomic reform policy effective.The minister made this remark at a meeting organized by the Ministry of Revenues to discuss with middle level taxpayers regarding compliance to tax laws and macroeconomic reform directions.The government of Ethiopia announced recently that it has embarked on full implementation of macroeconomic reform policy.Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide said the comprehensive macroeconomic reform program aims to modernize the Ethiopian economy and ensure continuous growth.The macroeconomic reform policy also aims at increasing revenues and cover expenditure by own resources, according to the minister.Moreover, Ahmed elaborated that the focus of the reform is to improve the ratio of taxes to the gross national product and to enhance the capacity of export trade by increasing productivity.The reform program will help to significantly reduce the country's debt burden and modernize the financial system, he added.On other hand, the minister pointed out that the role of the private sector in Ethiopia's stable macroeconomy is pivotal.He reiterated that the government will continue to strengthen law enforcement by ensuring that revenue is collected in a timely and accurate manner.Ahmed urged that all taxpayers must fulfill their responsibilities and collect income in a modern operating system in an appropriate manner in order to realize the objectives of macroeconomic reform policy.In this regard, he added that the government will work diligently to collect revenues through a modern operating system in an appropriate manner, he underlined.Minister of Revenues Aynalem Nigussie said on her part the revenues collected has tripled in the past five years citing the 170 billion Birr revenues collected in 2010 Ethiopian fiscal year has now reached over 512 billion Birr. Despite the r evenue performance showing progress, its share in terms of the total national product is low, she said, stressing the need to consult with the taxpayer to improve tax collection.Source : Ethiopian News Agency