By – Thoboloko Ntšonyane
MASERU – The Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) has yesterday taken the civil servants on a tour in a bid to improve their e-taxation experiences.
This comes barely five months after the RSL launched e-payment and e-taxation allowing their clients to file their returns and pay taxes through online platforms.
RSL Acting Commissioner-General, ‘Mathabo Mokoko said despite having started this digital journey a little late, she stated that what is important is that they have started.
She said, they will walk it with their clients.
Mokoko said these taxes will contribute to the improved country’s economy.
As a tax administrator, she said they do not bill in “isolation”, saying their system is connected with that of the Ministry of Trade when a person is issued a license. This is to optimize and ensure a smooth tax facilitation system.
The Acting Commissioner-General said the dialogue was facilitated to ensure that the civil servants fully exploit the benefits of the e-taxation platform and those that had not registered yet would be able to be assisted to register.
She added: “We want to walk this journey with you. We want to understand your frustrations. We want to solve them”.
One of the clients who gave a testimony on the e-taxation experience, Ntili Leluma said he liked the ease with which to transact when filling.
Also, for his part, Keheng Seala also applauded the RSL for introducing the e-filling system.
He expressed admiration for the convenience of filing his taxes at the comfort of his house.
The participants were drawn from different government ministries.
Some of the taxes that could be collected by the RSL include personal income tax (PIT), company income tax (CIT) and withholding taxes.
The government uses tax revenues to fund public services, build and maintain infrastructure projects and administer social security programmes.
Previously, Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA), RSL was established by the Parliament’s Act of 2001 and it became operational in 2003 and it is charged with the responsibility to assess, collect and remit to the government the tax revenues.