Protection Of Taxpayers’ Rights

By Attorney-Muse D. Dirie (Shine), Hargeysa, Somaliland

As we are all aware of, Taxpaying is a constitutional duty for every citizen. The relationship between Taxpayer and Tax authority are regulated by legislations which clearly mentioned the reciprocal rights and obligations of both parties. Unfortunately, Tax authority used and continues to use methods based on political and personal interest rather than legal process and this resulted of regular violation of revenue laws as well as taxpayers’ rights. Thus, the following points are examples of the tax authority illegal approaches towards the citizen taxpayers;

1. There is no policy statement approved and used for all enforcements on tax dues

2. Tax revenue officers and staff who have contact with taxpayers are not trained for the necessary fair and impartial treatment of taxpayers as well as financial laws. Similarly, Revenue officers and staff are not evaluated on a variety of job standards that include customer relations. To this end, they behave with unethical manner. They never used to explain to taxpayers their rights under the law. They ask to pay whatever amount of their own rate and if the person resists such an amount, they decrease up to ten or hundreds times as their own credit rather than government due. If the taxpayer still resists and invokes his rights, they used an illegal court process as a last resort. This illegal process is conducted as follows;, Needless to comply with Tax law and regulations requirements, Tax revenue office prepares a list of the lowest business people and submits to the public Prosecutor office which forwards to a special judge. The judge issues a payment order with a fixed time of ten days. If the time lapses or taxpayer invokes his rights, the judge orders arrest, attachment or seizure of personal property. In addition to this, tax revenue office pays remuneration, indemnities and other facilities to those involved with this process namely; the judge, prosecutor etc. One surprising thing was when I jokingly asked some revenue officers about the status and qualification of their tax judge and they told to be a ‘’ Koranic teacher of the Director general’s children’’ but the truth was different as the judge belongs to the Minister’s uncle. According to the direct taxation law, the tax section of the regional court shall consist of the president of the court, two assessors and one substitute assessor. The financial administration shall be represented in the proceedings by the head of the competent office or an other officer delegated for the purpose and the taxpayer appears personally or through a representative with a written power of attorney.

3. Head of the tax revenue office is appointed politically rather than civil servant legislations. Then, he selects office staff positions without regard to their status [permanent or temporary] and also can employ a new faces on his own choice. The current in charge of the revenue office who is on bail for pending criminal charges which resulted a court warrant, still works under the shelter of his superior patrons.

4. Taxpayers’ attorneys, agents or representatives who answer taxpayers’ questions and difficulties on both tax law and on individual accounts are regularly treated unlawfully. Similarly, their complaints, inquiries, petitions or requests are neither considered nor responded.

To this end, every body asks what can be remedy to these arbitrary acts by the tax authority? Or in other word, who has responsibility to control over these ever lasted violations of law and human rights by the financial administration? The answer of this question is that the parliament [House of Representatives] has legitimate right as a whole to ensure the collective accountability of the government and the individual responsibility of ministers. This means, the parliament, through out its economic committee is legally entitled to scrutinize of these illegal administrative acts.

In conclusion, I ask and hope the parliament to urgently and diligently take its role as this can be surely remedied to the executive violations of laws and human rights.

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