EDITORIAL - Naming and shaming tax dodgers

The Government is turning up the heat on delinquent taxpayers in a plan to name and shame those who have failed to honour their property-tax obligations.

In a push to bring in revenue, Richard Reese, director general of the Local Government Department, told the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament this week that the plan is to publish the names of delinquents who owe property tax for up to five years.

The broadest of tax bases in the country is land, but we need to acknowledge that there are large parcels of untitled land which have been passed down through generations which are virtually abandoned, and there should be a serious drive to identify these owners and demand that they comply.

Any attempt to protect the country's tax system and claw back the suspected billions of dollars in tax avoidance, as well as tax evasion, must be applauded, for it will beef up state resources, especially at this time when the Government has been forced to slash its budget. This is bound to cut services in a number of vital areas.

While there is this attempt to address tax avoidance, there should also be attention to tax evaders and corporate tax dodgers, as well as the self-employed who collect cash payments and persons who trade on the Internet. Hopefully, this latest initiative, along with ongoing prosecutions, will influence a greater degree of compliance and result in a fairer, more equitable tax system.

There is a direct connection between uncollected taxes and the quality and quantity of infrastructure service available to citizens. And it is obvious that some people are prepared to share public infrastructure, but they are unwilling to pay their fair share of taxes. For example, what is the volume of taxes collected from large overseas corporations, and how do they compare to the revenues collected from local companies? Are there loopholes being exploited to obscure their true tax obligations?

Proposal requested

Mr Reese disclosed that his department has submitted proposals to the Ministry of Finance on how to increase revenue through property-tax collection. We hope that the hiring of private debt-collection agencies and the use of new technology are being considered to ferret out those who deftly evade their legal obligations to the country.

Property taxes are used to pay for street lighting and to deal with the management of solid waste - services that we all enjoy. The paucity of street lights all across the Corporate Area and the pile-up of garbage tell an eloquent story of a desperate tax gap. How to make a meaningful dent in the Budget deficit has been exercising the mind of the finance minister and his advisers for many years. The answer lies in finding artful ways of overcoming those who continue to play hide and seek with the revenue department.

The revenue department and, by extension, the Government, must get its act together and bring tax evaders to heel by compelling them to honour their legal obligations.

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