Liberia: LRA Awards Jeety, Others for Tax Compliance

Two of Jeety’s representatives received his award on his behalf.

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) honored several taxpayers on Thursday, December 8, for their strong support and valuable contributions to tax payments for revenue collection within the country.

About 40 individuals, businesses, and organizations received awards and special recognition during the event. 

The honoring program is an annual event targeted at improving the culture of tax compliance by honoring and recognizing Liberia’s valuable taxpayers for their enormous contributions to domestic revenue mobilization.

The seventh LRA tax appreciation event was held under the theme, “Pay Tax, We All Enjoy.”

The awardees were chosen based on their total tax compliance or the amount of tax contributions made in 2019 and 2020.

In the real property tax payment sector, Upjit Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Jeety Conglomerate, including Jeety Trading Corporation and Jeety Rubber Liberia Limited, was recognized as the highest tax contributor for commercial property; Momolu Dukuly V. Sirleaf was named as the highest tax contributor for industrial property; Grace Minor was recognized as the highest contributor for real property, vacant land; and Tania Jaural Ibrahim was recognized as the highest tax contributor for residential.

ArcelorMittal-Liberia won the Gold Award as the first highest tax contributor; Orange-Liberia won the Silver Award as the highest tax contributor nationwide; and the Monrovia Club Breweries got the Bronze Award as the third highest in the tax payment category.

Large taxpayers are businesses with a yearly total income of L$30,000,000 and above. Medium taxpayers are businesses with a yearly total income below L$30,000,000 but not less than L$3,000,000, while small taxpayers are businesses with an annual gross income below L$3,000,000 but not less than L$200,000.

Meanwhile, Firestone Liberia was named the winner of the Most Compliant Taxpayer Award in the Natural Resource Sector, while Asatu Dagossea Business Center was named the Most Compliant Petty Trader.

Under the Customs category, A-Z Corporation was named as the first-highest contributor in general merchandise, and Fouani Brothers Corporation was recognized as the second-highest in the same category.

Also, Total Liberia, now Conex, took first place as the highest tax contributor in the petroleum industry, followed by Petro Trade, among others.

Speaking during the taxpayer appreciation dinner and awards night held at the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, LRA Commissioner General Thomas Doe Nah commended taxpayers who made the effort to contribute to the revenue envelope. 

He described tax payment as a civic duty that is in line with the law. He said that without taxes, the government would be unable to meet the demands of society.

“Taxes are crucial because the government collects the money and uses it for projects. Also, in addition to paying the salaries of government workers, tax dollars also help support the security services, build roads, and main highways, but importantly, it improves the quality of life for citizens, which is critical to the success of the pro-poor agenda,” said Nah.

For his part, Molewuleh Gray, Chairman of the National Investment Commission, lauded employees of the LRA for successfully holding the event.

He called on well-meaning citizens to encourage businesses in the country to pay their more lawful taxes that will help develop Liberia.

According to him, the private sector is the engine of the economy, and once it is working well, then the economy becomes better.

Gray thanked the honorees for paying their taxes to support the government’s development programs.

At the same time, Youjay Bright, resident judge of the Tax Court, told the gathering that paying taxes is cardinal to economic growth and fiscal stability. 

“We want to encourage you to continue on this trend,” Bright stated.