The Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Dorbor Jallah has pleaded with the Legislature to make LRA to a fiscal autonomy.
LRA Commissioner General made the statement Tuesday, May 21, 2024 when he appeared before the Senate plenary. His appearance comes in the wake of the Senate’s decision to use its oversight to increase the national revenue envelops to US$1million.
Jallah said by amending the LRA act, it will allocate a percentage to annual national revenue as its budget, ideal between three to five percent in line with other revenue authorities in the region.
“We are requesting the Legislature to pair our budget base on our performance. As it is right now, our budget is unpredictable and similar to other lines and agencies in the budget,” he said.
According to him, the Ministry of Finance prepares the budget, it comes to the Legislature and then there is a debate and discussion around that.
He observed that sometimes they are lucky like this year, “All of you were very kind to us to grant us a budget of around US$22 million; at other times, it was proposed at low as US$13 million.”
The LRA boss said the fluctuation of the budget makes it difficult for the entity to execute its numerous initiatives and sustain its programs.
He further said there is a need for the Senate to revisit the LRA Act by allocating the recommended 5% of the total generated revenue every year and ensure it remains consistent every year.
“This change will further provide the Liberia Revenue Authority the stable financial foundation necessary to procure essential tools like logistics, invest in technological infrastructure and adopt innovative revenue generation solutions,” Jallah told the senators.
Jallah said if they are empowered with these resources, LRA can significantly increase the national revenue surpassing the US$1 billion threshold and extending the national resource envelope to unprecedented levels.
