Tax refunds will not collapse businesses: Shiimi

The Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises , Iipumbu Shiimi , has dismissed concerns among some businesses regarding the impact of the government directive on tax refunds , asserting that it will not lead to their collapse . Parliament has passed the Income Tax Amendment Act , 2024 ( Act No . 4 of 2024 ), which provides for Pay - As - You - Earn ( PAYE ) deduction reimbursements from 01 March 2024 to 30 September 2024 . The ministry has issued a General Notice ( 09 / 2024 ) granting authority and directing employers to reimburse the PAYE over - deducted from employees by deducting the reimbursed PAYE from the monthly employee tax amount to be paid to the Namibia Revenue Agency ( NamRA ) between 01 October 2024 and 28 February 2025 . In a ministerial statement on Tuesday , Shiimi differed with the concerns raised by a business forum that refunding employees will place a financial burden on them , especially on small businesses . ' I would like to dispel the misconception that the directive for employers t o refund PAYE could force businesses to close down . There is no truth in such an assertion . ' The ministry is requesting employers to deduct the PAYE reimbursements from the employee tax to be paid to NamRA . As such , on a net basis , there are no cash flow implications for employers ,' the minister said . Shiimi said the ministry noted that there could be instances where employers do not have sufficient tax payable liabilities to effect the full PAYE reimbursements to all employees in a single month . As a result , the ministry did not prescribe a time period within which employers should process the refunds . ' We trust employers will determine the reimbursement period following a comprehensive assessment of their respective monthly cash flows , payroll size , and systems , as well as their internal operational and administrative procedures . ' We , therefore , encourage employees to engage their respective employers for confirmation of the specific dates when they will be in a position to process their refunds ,' he said . The Income Tax Amendment Act pertains to the increase of the threshold for individual income tax from N . dollars 50 000 to N . dollars 100 000 . The adjustment effectively means that all individual taxpayers will be exempted from paying tax on the first N . dollars 100 000 of their income . As such , there has been an over - deduction of PAYE from all employees earning annual income above N . dollars 50 000 over the seven - month period from 01 March 2024 until 30 September 2024 , according to Shiimi Source: The Namibia News Agency