Ethiopia is holding the 2nd nationwide tax conference to develop a tax harmonization system and to enhance the capacity of tax administrations through human resource development and enhancing information technology to facilitate national economic growth.
The Ethiopian government is committed to strategic programs to strengthen the tax administration capacity and to improve the tax collection system towards sustainable economic development said Ahmed Shedi, Minister of State for Finance and Economic Development speaking at the opening of the conference held at the UN-ECA conference center.
The country is undertaking significant development projects that require considerable funding and the contribution of tax income is increasingly growing because of the measures being taken to improve the tax system according to Ahmed.In the absence of appropriate tax and customs administration meeting the economic goals set for the country will be hard to achieve noted Eshetu Dessie, Deputy Director with the Customs Authority Transformation and Modernization Directorate.
To this end the customs authority is working to improve the system by providing capacity building training for employees and executive bodies he added.
Challenges include ensuring a transparent and responsible tax and customs administration which combats low tax payer awareness, illegal maneuvering, and execution of punitive laws said Eshetu.
Source: Ethiopian Press Agency
