26th June, 2018 TONGAN The Ministry of Revenue and Customs would like to clarify that the contents of the article published on the Talaki Newspaper, issue of the 8th May 2018, page 3, claiming that the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Semisi Sika owes tax to Government in the millions, is false.
Talaki, in the same article also reports rumors exchanged on social media that there was directions from high officials in Government for the Ministry not to initiate court recovery of the “millions of tax owed”. This rumor is also false.
The Ministry would like to remind the public that there are processes followed by the Ministry in recovering outstanding tax and these processes apply to all taxpayers regardless of social and political status. It is disappointing that these false and misleading information are being shared on social media and published in local newspapers without confirmation or authority of the Ministry.
The Ministry would also like to emphasize to the public that tax information of taxpayers are confidential and would only be disclosed in circumstance specified in the law. This protects the interest and confidence of taxpayers that their personal income information are securely kept by the Ministry. It is then the duty of the Ministry to ensure that the correct tax is assessed and paid according to the tax information provided by the taxpayer or collected by the Ministry.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Revenue and Customs