The Ethiopian Revenue and Customs authority held talks with business people from the Merkato area, center for business activity in Ethiopia. The meeting was held at the National Lottery Administration Hall last week.
The meeting was expected to relax some tension in the Merkato business community following the drastic measures enforced by the ‘The Merkato Project’ to enforce tax compliance.
‘The Merkato Project’ was launched last year by ERCA Director General Melaku Fenta after studies by the tax authority estimated that only 25% of businesses located in Merkato appropriately comply with their tax obligations.The measures enacted by the authority to enforce total tax compliance were perceived as harsh by the business community according to concerns voiced by participants at the meeting.
The business community had patriotically supported the efforts of the government by paying taxes in the past including the Ethio-Eritera conflict said Gebrewahid Woldegiorgis Deputy Director General of ERCA in an effort to ease tension.
Source: The Reporter
