(JollofNews) – Gambia’s first daily newspaper which was shut down earlier this month over unpaid taxes has been cleared to reopen, local press sources revealed to the African Press Agency on Wednesday.
According to the sources, staff of the Daily Observer resumed work on Wednesday after reaching an agreement with The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) over tax arrears amounting to $377,777.
The Daily Observer offices were temporarily shut down earlier this month by the GRA whose officials cited the media company’s apparent lack of commitment to honour its tax obligations which date back several years.
It is not known what kind of deal the media company has reached with the GRA.
Following the closure the management of the Daily Observer newspaper resorted to negotiations with the GRA over the company’s tax payment default.
According to the anonymous source, the company was seeking an agreement to allow it to resume operations and pay the tax arrears by installments.
The company with at least 100 employees was initially told by GRA to at least pay 30 percent of the total money, in order to be allowed operation and the rest be paid subsequently.
The newspaper is widely known for its pro-government editorials under former President Yahya Jammeh, who was widely believed to have owned it.
Source: APA
Positive move. Congrats to all involved at resolving the matter speedily. Guaranteeing Press freedom should be paramount in our new Gambia; so too the responsibility to honour tax obligations, without exception.
I hope the GRA will take similar stance and vigour to recover owed taxes from other businesses and individuals, without any further delays. If they are willing to enforce the tax laws as amended in 2012, they should also pursue tax defaulters as reported by the Tax Commission under Yaya Jammeh.
No cherry picking should be allowed.
Forget the tax commission instituted by Jammeh. The description “tax commision under Jammeh” tarnished your argument in the first place. How comes such a tax commission came to a conclusion without implicating Jammeh in tax defrauding? I hope you are following the assets revelations ongoing and familiarise yourself with the magnitude of tax evasion that was practiced by & under Jammeh. Daily observer is a vivid example. There was no mention of daily observer in the aforementioned tax commission report.
Kinteh (kemo)
1. Selectively making use of the APRC’s/ Jammeh’s instruments of governance amounts to DOUBLE STANDARDS. If you do not recognise the legitimacy of the Tax Commission, you should not recognise the legitimacy of the GRA’s actions, because it relied on Acts formulated and enacted into law by the same regime.
2. Jammeh’s actions (shielding associates & holding “opponents” to account) was wrong and should be condemned by all, but that doesn’t negate the duty of others to honour their tax obligations and as far as I know, all who appeared before the commission were accorded the rights to defend themselves.
Furthermore, I don’t know of any who haf legally challenged the final amounts they were told they owed to the taxman, thus (failing a challenge), they have accepted the amounts reached to be a true reflection of their tax liabilities. So, they must pay up.
And if your view is that the commission should be brushed aside, then what do you propose to do with those who may already have paid up? Refund their monies with interest that may have been accrued or just say to them, “tough luck guys, no refunds. Better luck next time”.
3. You know very well that Jammeh, as a sitting head of state, could NOT have been investigated by the commission, nor too would his numerous interests (business or not) be investigated by any body he set up but again, that shouldn’t render the work of the commission null and void. It was legally constituted by the authority of the day and dealt with all cases brought to its attention. The absence of the D/O from the list of tax defaulters before the commission had no impact on their work, to render it invalid.
In any case, the new goverment would hold his associates whom he shielded to account, as is evident with the Daily Observer, thus balancing the equation.
1. No double standards. The tax commission has nothing to do with GRA. The tax commission was commissioned by Jammeh to witch hunt opponents or force businesses into his line. The GRA was in similar situation just like all the other state institutions. These institutions are apparently correcting themselves by going after legitimate tax evaders or purging out rotten tomatoes.
2. If all were accorded the right to defend themselves, logically if they default in paying or failed to defend themselves against the claims, Jammeh had the legal tool to incarcerate them. Now why didn’t that happen? Why would Darboe default and still be a free man and a staunch critic of the tyrant? Why would he be sent to jail, for 3 years, for a lesser crime of protesting without a police permit (even though PA-SYSTEM was not used- which would require a permit).
3. A sitting president has no immunity from prosecution, if an offence he commit or ask others to commit, or acts to obstruct justice, considerably undermine the office of the presidency, elements of crime Jammeh fulfilled long time ago with his amassing of wealth and assets. Brazil’s Delma
Rousseff had to go and current president of Brazil is facing the same fate.
So Jammeh been immune to everything while in office is a cheap excuse. I don’t see either the hands of the present govt in the daily observers case. The people and institutions under Jammeh are now cleansing themselves off the dictate of a former tyrant and trying to be professional by undoing the bad policies forced into them by the tyrant.
1. The Tax Commission was commissioned to witch hunt opponents, right? What about the amended tax laws (2012) that granted immense powers to the GRA? Would you say the same about them: that they were meant to witch hunt opponents?
This is the problem I observed. If you believe that Jammeh did A for B; you must also accept that he did C for D. If the tax commission was meant to witch hunt opponents, then it has to be observed that the tax laws were amended to do the same. Hence, if we dismiss the commission’s findings as invalid, we must also dismiss the actions of GRA that relied on the amended tax laws, as invalid. Otherwise, the charge of double standards is appropriate.
2. You probably noticed that I have not mentioned any specific cases for obvious reasons, but since you mentioned Darboe, I can only guess that he wasn’t sent to prison for tax arrears because he entered into some sort of payment agreement with the commission that was acceptable to government. Since no other defaulter was sent to prison, as far as I know, this is the only logical reason I can think of. But Jammeh is a cunning and calculating guy, so only he knows why he spared the defaulters any jail time.
3. I never said that all sitting presidents are immune from probing or prosecution and obviously, Brazil has a different system and set of laws governing removal of president from office to The Gambia. One thing is for sure: under our current laws, no Gambian president can be removed from office as Delma Roussef was removed.
So no, it wasn’t a cheap excuse. No commission set by a sitting president in the Gambia can probe the President. The tax commission could not have investigated Jammeh because, not only was he the sitting president, he was the authority that established the commission and defined its terms of reference.
This is just the begining. Since 2007 the Observer Company have been defaulting but at least they have been showing some willingness to comply. That was until this new management took over. As attested to by the MD in his interview with Lamin Cham, they have not paid anything, neither part of the arrears nor the current tax obligations, since December 2016. That is unthinkable in the US or Europe.
There has never been any cherry picking. If a tax payer shows a commitment to comply with their tax obligation, the tax Authority has always been willing to work with that taxpayer. However, where a taxpayer refuses to comply with their obligations and resorts to black mailing and castigation as an escape route, the Authority should not hesitate to apply the full force of the law. The paper cannot force GRA to do business with them and use the proceeds to pay their taxes. After all, the tax is not GRA’s money, but government’s.
Kemo (kemo),
Do you really accept that Ousainou Darbo owed/continues to owe the Gambian people over D400,000 for taxes he deliberately evaded for years?
President Jammeh is not here, but Ousainou is, in fact a Minister. Here in Holland, he would have been fired, put under a barrage of investigation and interrogation sessions and finally brought before the laws to answer for a deliberate crime. The money he owed/owes belongs to the Gambian people.
You see Kinteh, we’ve arrived at a plausible political impasse where the President Jammeh “enablers” should be exonerted from all UDP criticisms for their unreserved support for Babili Mansa. Aren’t we seeing similar unreserved support by UDP enablers for Ousainou Darbo, Amadou Sanneh, Omar Jallow, all the “coalition” ministers who have defrauded the Gambian state in one way or another, but still maintain their positions?
Darbo owed(s) thousands of dalasis for tax evasion, Amadou Sanneh was jailed for falsefying documents, Omar Jallow squandered the farmers’ resources while Agric Minister in the PPP regime…… Those are our administration! What qualifies them to continue their work?
Oh! Dear, The GRA must have stopped laughing at impoverished Journalists /
Bet yah Demba Jawo shoved his size 10 ( up their ass }
Mike, Section 215 of the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012 is an oversize to any Minister and its the one GRA was putting on fittingly. I will advise that you go back to your house and learn how to choose words before getting on the internet next time. The words you put in bracket are rude, uncultured, unprofessional and un-religious. Anybody could throw more nasty words on you for free. Be advised!!!
LIES, LIES AND LIES.
News are spreading like wild fire that Ousainou Darbo, Minister of Foreign Affairs evaded paying his taxes for many years and that he owes the Gambian people hundreds of thousands of dalasis. It is a disgrace to have a minister in a current government with such huge arrears, which in fact is a criminal case. Yet he’s not dismissed nor indicted.
The Observer Newspaper on the other hand which the incompetent Barrow administration perceives an enemy media because of its former links with President Jammeh was genuine vengeful grounds to shut it down without any court jurisdiction. That was another show of unwanton use of power and abuse of authority.
Now, to diffuse the tension that would allow Ousainou Darbo time to sleep away from the tax evasion scandal, the ploy is to cajole and fool Gambians about the reopening of the Observer Newspaper. That way the inept and corrupt Barrow administration would allow its CRIMINAL minister of Foreign Affairs to re-negotiate his taxe evasion crimes against the Gambian people. That’s the cunning and sly deal behind re-opening the Observer Newspaper.
The corrupt, criminal and bootlegger Commissioner General of GRA, Yankuba, who recently corrupted Barrow with a new vehicle would do everything to appease his bosses and to maintain his job by using state GRA machinery against the APRC and President Jammeh agencies and/or individuals. But his days will come!
Let us stick to reasons and facts.The two administrations,that is the second anday third Republics, do have similarities just because they are both governments,but the conditions,reasons and objectives are totally different.
The democratic aspirations could never be attained without transparency to the letter when it comes to the execution of their duties as public servants.
Only such a stance could enhance the integrity that have been paved by pioneers of successful administrations internationally.
We need thoroughly to change attitudes and try to improve and support the education process especially in the sectors our economy is hanging on…i.e. A new Hotel training school in the central river division and upgrade the capacities of the existing institutions.
It is practically impossible to achieve all that we desire in a short time or to correct all wrongs. Already lack of resources and know-how is stalking investigations into atrocities said to be inflicted by the former regime and that is just a prelude to challenging times ahead.
The hostile climatic conditions with some serving as bedrock of diseases, the culture of silence we lived in for centuries,the concoction get of skills or means to the end in unconventional cultural setups, all play their part in constraining our capabilities and trying to know the cause first before attempting to remedy them is often overlooked in certain situations like the Gambian.
Mr Tax…I agree with you,,, except for your last paragraph>> The Tax is neither owned by the GRA or the government>> It is paid by the people/ for the people. It was the last government who thought they owned the people’s tax>>> that’s why Gambia is broke’
Otherwise keep up the objective;
Misrepresentation is the course of the problems we are facing in this world. I never said the tax is owned by GRA. What I said is the TAX IS GOVERNMENT’S MONEY.
Nope !>> Its your money. Government is entrusted to use your money on your behalf.
Agreed. Government is only entrusted with management. The monies belong to the people.
I will then be more furious if GRA was to use ‘my money’ (instead of governments money) to advertise with Observer Front page just to help them pay their taxes when the non deafaulting newspapers are nott given similar business. The next time, any business that want to do business with GRA wikl realise that defaulting on their taxes will be an easy way.
I do NOT believe and will never believe (unless proven truthfully) that Ousianou Darbo evaded paying his taxes under the previous regime. He, being the no.1 enemy of Yahya Jammeh and there is no doubt that Jammeh was looking for each and every possibility to humiliate, arrest and imprison Ousainou Darbo for the slightest error. I beg all to be realistic in their ‘cooked tales’.
How can Ousainou Darbo escape Greedy, wicked and heartless tyrant Jammeh from paying his taxex for all these years when Jammeh was looking for the slightest opportunity to jump on him and finish him???????? Jammeh was arresting, dismissing imprisoning, raping and killing innocent Gambians for 22 years.
Let us be realistic in our thinking. This story is just cooked tales and unfortunately reasonable minds cannot believe it. Remember, we have very reasonable and sound minds that can add up things. We the majority of peaceful and democratically-minded Gambians believe that the story on Minister Ousainou Darbo on evading tax is a lie only to tarnish his image. It can never be true.
I wouldn’t believe any accusation made by the Jammeh regime against Darboe or Sanneh. Both were humiliated for the tyrants end game. So lets stop the speculation against decent people whose objective and mandate is to serve. Demba Jawo encouraged constructive criticism not unsubstantiated speculation. AS to whether they have the capability to rise to the challenges of leadership and government is a matter yet to be decided. May god give them the energy to get out of bed each morning for the hand dealt by the tyrant is full of many complexities.
Tonya Wato (Fania Watu)
READ THIS ARTICLE ABOUT OUSAINOU DARBO’S DEBT TO THE GAMBIAN PEOPLE WHICH HE INCURRED 16 YEARS AGO BY EVADING TAX PAYMENTS.
HE HASN’T COME OUT TO DENY THEM. IT HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIATED BY RECEIPTS SENT TO HIM 16 YEARS AGO.
DARBO IS A CROOK, A CRIMINAL, AN UNPATRIOTIC CITIZEN, A TAX EVADER. HE DOESN’T DESERVE THE POSITION HE’S HOLDING NEITHER A PARTY LEADER. HE SHOULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE LAW AND TRIED FOR WILLFUL EVASION OF PAYING HIS TAX OBLIGATIONS.
A LEADER WHO STEALS FROM HIS PEOPLE. REFERRING TO JAMMEH IS NOW A PAST RELIC. YOU CANNOT WORK ON THAT PRETEXT TO CONDONE THEFT AND CORRUPTION BY STATE LEADERS.
LEARN TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE GAMBIAN PEOPLE NOT CRIMINALS SITTING IN RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC POSITIONS.
READ THIS ARTICLE!!!!!!!!!!
Gambia: Breaking News: 16 Years Old Income Tax Document Reveals That Ousainou Darboe Owed D446, 865. 56 Taxes To The State!
Back in April 6th, 2001, the then Commissioner of Income Tax, issued a DEMAND NOTE and FINAL WARNING to the leader of Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP’s) Ousainou Darboe, to settle his income tax liabilities…
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June 28, 2017
Back in April 6th, 2001, the then Commissioner of Income Tax, issued a DEMAND NOTE and FINAL WARNING to the leader of Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP’s) Ousainou Darboe, to settle his income tax liabilities to the Gambian state, amounting to over D446, 865. 56 before August 11th 2001, or risked being found guilty of tax evasion under Gambian tax laws, a sixteen year old document obtained by the Freedom Newspaper has revealed. Mr. Darboe, who is Gambia’s Foreign Minister, is also a career lawyer by profession. The outstanding tax arrears at the time represents monies Mr. Darboe and his law firm owed to the state. His party, the UDP, had to chip in to bailout the politician, so that he can clear his tax arrears in order for him to be able to present himself, as a Presidential candidate in the October 18th, 2001 presidential elections.
In 2013, a Gambia Government White Paper Commission of Inquiry Report published by the former Jammeh government also listed Mr. Darboe, as among the nation’s income tax defaulters. The politician, was said to have owed the state close to D2 Million dalasi. Mr. Darboe went to court to challenge the government tax evasion findings against him, but there was no definitive ruling delivered on his appeal for the findings to be set aside.
New Jersey Accounting Professor Dr. Lamin Conteh’s, reaction to Mr. Darboe’s alleged 2013 tax arrears to the Gambian state was unequivocal. He says the monthly salary of Gambia’s Foreign Minister and UDP leader Ousainou Darboe, should be garnished by the Adama Barrow government, because the politician is owing back taxes to the state in the tune of close to D 2 Million dalasi. Mr. Conteh, who was speaking during an interview with Freedom Radio Gambia on Tuesday, said the new Barrow government should recover taxes owed to the state by the likes of Darboe and co.
“ Ousainou Darboe’s wages should be garnished. If the Daily Observer can be penalized for not paying taxes, why not Lawyer Darboe, the leader of the opposition United Democratic Party, and also our Foreign Minister? I just don’t get it. He should pay up his back taxes,” Dr. Conteh, an Accounting Professor tells Freedom Radio Gambia.
Mr. Conteh was shocked about the over two billion dalasi income tax liabilities owed to the state by income tax evaders in the country. Leading members of the Bar, hotel owners, Insurance Companies, and private health facilities were among those listed as tax defaulters.
“I was talking to a Friend, and the issue of Darboe evading taxes some years ago, came up in our conversation. I couldn’t understand how comes that he has been found evading taxes for the second time. I believe in the Commission Report. He owed close to D 2 million dalasi. He should pay up or have his salary garnished. It is not fair for the Barrow government to go after the Daily Observer and leave defaulters like Darboe,” he said
With today’s revelations on Mr. Darboe’s 2001, back taxes, many would be tempted to ask: Why on earth would Ousainou Darboe repeat the same alleged offence twice? You guess is as good as ours.
Mr. Darboe could not be reached for comment. The document was obtained from reliable sources.
Earlier on, during our Tuesday prime time news analysis show, a caller, who wished to remain anonymous asked our Editor, if he could organize a debate between Ousainou Darboe, Halifa Sallah, OJ Jallow and others on the issue of nonpayment of income taxes. The caller said Mr. Darboe, should be challenged as to why he has not been paying his fair share to the state. The caller also said he has a document in his possession linking Mr. Darboe to tax evasion.
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Well it would have been within Jammeh’s constitutional duties to bring criminal charges against Darboe for evading tax. How come he spared Darboe and incarcerated others, if any, for tax evasion? I hope you can start familiarising yourself with the adage that he who accuses must bring evidence or proof. Except some Bolong- Bili mansa diehards, even school children know that these allegations against Darboe are at best hoax. And I think Darboe has NO legal nor moral obligation to answer or refute them. Because no court of law handled the allegations nor found them to be true. It will be naive for Darboe to answer to Conteh’s call. Let conteh go to court with his evidences.
Babu, I think “tax evasion” is not the appropriate term in the cases that the commission dealt with. What seemed to have happened is that people are accused to have “underpaid” tax, probably due to how the calculations were done. So the appropriate term would be underpayment of tax, rather than evasion of tax. Evasion is a deliberate attempt to defraud; underpayment is an error. There’s a difference, I guess.
The term EVASION is any delibrate underdeclaration and/or underpayment.
Babu Soli
You are just a bitter old man ravaged by jealousy and envy for being left behind in your social standing by your peers like Darbo and Jallow. Who is next on your list of accused? Those who can’t see good in others have no goodness in themselves. Your thinly disguised hatred and unsubstantiated accusations against everyone in President Barrow’s administration and at the same time being a BABOITA MANSA die-hard say a lot about you Babu Soli. You are nothing but a petty,sad and vengeful loser bereft of ideas, class or belonging. Vulgarity and loud mouthed peddling of lies, lies, lies and lies are your only traits. For a man of your age, it is incredulous to read some of the bullshit coming from your backside as they surely can’t come from your mouth because their negativity and lack of common sense. You are the oldest in this forum and the crudest, rudest, classless and probably the ugliest of all.
Pop in viagra old pa to stay sane because we are all doubting your sanity. What happened in your sad life that made you to be this hateful? There is a difference between being a political opponent and a hateful bigot and it seemed you have confused the two.
Babu
Again even Donald Trump lately “filed some tax returns” shortly before becoming president; I too learned of some accrued tax that Mr Ousainou Darboe had to file to get (P)IEC clearance to contest one of the elections as a candidate…
That’s been already settled; & could now only be a political distraction manoeuvre; in Britain, for example, HMRC agents meet some of the big-fish over dinner tables, etc, etc, to negotiate &/ finalize (amounts of their) tax returns; I’m not saying the same should apply in Gambia; as ALL & SUNDRY MUST equally pay our tax returns proportionately according to (our individual) earnings for nation building & Ousainou &/ ANYBODY else aren’t exemptions but when &/ if that’s been paid already, what’s the deal now; let’s have fresh evidence/s of nonpayment of tax owed currently for any tangible evidence against him; just as in the in case of the Observer newspaper as have been acknowledged by their MD…?
Yes Bax>> there is a wide difference between “evasion” and ” a final common agreement” and Bajaw don’t always believe what you read in the British press. Trump has highlighted the abundance and proliferation of Fake News.
Mike
Then none must believe all that’s been written about the current Gambia government too except presented alongside with the facts that I ask Babu to substantiate…?