Progress report for
Revenue growth through institutional linkages and systems support
Achievement at a glance
This partnership has significantly strengthened the core functions of the SIIRD (such as registration of taxpayers, a collection of debt, auditing of taxpayers and leadership), increasing tax compliance, and expanding and protecting the nation’s revenue base. Tax revenue collected as a percentage of GDP has doubled (10.4% - 21.9%) providing vital funding to the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) as it has sought to restore fiscal and financial stability.\r\n Continued revenue growth has contributed to the expansion of government services. SIIRD is regarded as a high performing division, and the next five year phase will focus on maintaining the gains made and continuing to: o strengthen revenue operations and collection;o improve voluntary tax compliance and tax enforcement rates;o increase SI-IRD’s ability to input into and implement tax policy reform;o strengthen organisational capability and capacity; and,o improve the collection of organisational performance data. The enduring formal and informal relationships developed between NZIRD and SIIRD staff, led by a professional expatriate (Solomon Islands Tax Commissioner), have been critical to the success of the programme.Challenges faced in implementation
Some staff who have been trained have moved onto to private sector and development employment.\r\nWhilst the opportunity for exchange has also contributed to strong informal linkages between NZIRD and SIIRD, which are likely to be enduring and contribute to longer-term sharing of information and best practices the SIIRD need to ensure a sustainable approach to maintaining staff as the numbers of seconded staff from MFAT will draw down over time, however the established institutional link will provide ongoing opportunities for exchanges and ongoing mentoring support.\r\nCompeting day to day national work, as well as staff traveling for meetings, hinders staff time for training.Beneficiaries
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