Praneeta Prakash 
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Professor Biman Prasad, says the newly established Fiji Revenue and Customs Service Crime Taskforce is focused on fostering tax compliance rather than targeting individuals or businesses.
During the inaugural meeting of the taskforce, Prasad stressed that while tax evasion is a crime, tax avoidance may not be, and the taskforce will adopt a friendly and flexible approach.
Prasad says the task force is not about a witch hunt but about working together to ensure that everyone complies and pays the appropriate tax.
“The establishment of the tax task force, or the compliance tax task force, or crimes tax task force, whichever one you want to use, is sending a very strong signal, message to those who are deliberately trying to evade tax, deliberately trying to avoid tax, and cheating the government of the tax revenue that the government deserves to collect.”
Prasad says that most Fijian businesses and individuals are adhering to tax laws, but emphasized that deliberate tax evasion undermines the country’s economic stability.
“Deliberate tax evasion is detrimental to Fiji’s economy (or any other economy in any other part of the world. It erodes the tax base.It places additional burden on other honest taxpayers who do the right thing.”
Prasad also stresses that the taskforce’s role is to enhance revenue collection while protecting businesses’ ability to grow, ensuring a fair and effective tax system for all.
