Only 588 registered tax payers from creative industry

THE Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, and the National Theatre of Namibia earlier this month (8 August 2023) held its first stakeholder engagement with the creative industry.

THE REALITY

Statistics presented by Namra commissioner Sam Shivute showed that 588 taxpayers are registered in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors. Shivute said this figure does not reflect the realities of the industry that has a vast influence and contribution to the Namibian economy.

“This sector contributes to the reduction of unemployment, entertainment, and tourism,” the commissioner said. Namra admitted that they do not have enough data or records from the creative industry, making it difficult to measure their contribution to the economy. This directly affects Namra’s domestic resource mobilisation efforts.

“We know this sector contributes big time to this economy, but we cannot manage what we cannot measure,” he said. Namra requested future cooperation with the arts and culture sectors to ensure the that their data is updated to better reflect the realities.

TAX COMPLIANCE

Namra executive officials said every creative – employed and earning an income in Namibia – should be a registered taxpayer. However, senior manager of regional operations for domestic taxes Frieda Muaine clarified that only those that meet the N$50 000 per year threshold are required to pay income tax. “Any person [earning] more than N$4 166.00 [per month] should be taxable in Namibia,” she said.

“I am a registered taxpayer and I agree that tax should be paid,” actress and model Odile Gertze told Unwrap, while also highlighting a reality for many in the industry, which is that although she earns an income from the arts through acting, dancing, and working behind the scenes at music concerts, it is not her primary source of income.

Afroprint Line owner Ndeshi Fikameni focuses on manufacturing and textiles. She, however, said her business still does not generate revenue of N$500 000 per year to pay VAT.

“Namra should first understand that the creative industry is not seen as professional, even in terms of income revenue. Additionally, nobody is regulating how creatives should be paid, etc. Until that is sorted, the issues of taxes should be put on hold,” she said.

Frans Koolike, who is a content creator on YouTuber, solely relies on his craft to earn a living. He said he is optimistic that his consultancy business will meet the VAT threshold next year, however, highlighted the lack of legal framework around digital services provided by Namibians.

“I have a registered company that incorporates film and productions, however, within the area of digital as a country we have a grey area, no legal framework around digital platforms, and the nature of e-commerce or cloud service, digital transactions, basically as a country losing a lot in revenue and subjecting people to hefty charges due to the absence of legal certainty,” he said.

REGISTRATION BENEFITS

Shivute used the platform to advise the creative industry to unify and organise themselves for benefits and future opportunities.

He said registering for taxes is one way they can organise themselves, as it will enable the Namra team to create accurate models of the industry’s VAT and tax contribution.

The creative industry will be able to track their contribution to the national revenue and be eligible to benefit from incentives and policy adjustments when they speak as one strong voice, that is seeking help as an industry to receive support and benefits, said Shivute.

“We also have an obligation to understand you, to understand the challenges that you have with tax administration, the challenges you have with customs administration and how can we collaboratively hold hands and move in the same direction.”

This creative industry stakeholder engagement formed part of a series of stakeholder engagements that Namra has set to undertake to understand the different Namibian sectors’ needs while advocating tax compliance. –unWrap

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