This Department is responsible for all fiscal matters relating to Expenditure and Revenue as well as Tax Policy. With the establishment of a semi-autonomous Revenue Authority, the Department of Fiscal Affairs deals with revenue and tax policy issues, including framing of tax laws and regulations, role of taxation and tax exemptions in the broader economic and development policy framework, and issues relating to non-tax revenue.
In addition to revenue and tax issues, Fiscal Affairs further deals with public expenditure issues ranging from framing of financial rules and regulations to matters pertaining to government accounting. The Department has oversight of the Controller and Accountant General Office, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), policies on government subsidies, pay, allowances, pension policies and monitoring of public expenditure.
The Department of Fiscal Affairs comprises the divisions of Expenditure and Revenue and Tax Policy.
Expenditure Division
The Expenditure Division, headed by an Assistant Minister, manages the financial resources of Liberia. The Division is responsible to develop and administer the financial rules and regulations of the Republic; oversee and execute all matters relating to government accounting, including pay, pensions and other allowances, as well as develop fiscal policy. In addition, the Expenditure Division also implements expenditure proposals of Ministries and Agencies of Government as appropriated in the Budget, and performs other functions as may be assigned by the Minister as well as imposed by law.
Revenue and Tax Policy Division
The Revenue and Tax Policy Division, headed by an Assistant Minister, is primarily a policy division that addresses tax and non-tax revenue policies. This Division and the Ministry will interface with the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), a semi-autonomous agency, under the general supervision and direction of the Minister, responsible for implementing the tax laws and collecting taxes. The Tax Policy Division has responsibility for forecasting revenue and providing the forecasts to the Budget Division in the Department of Budget and Development Planning, as well as the Macroeconomic Policy Division in the Department of Economic Management.
Main Functions of the Revenue & Tax Policy Division:
• Development and implementation of tax policy proposals, drafting legislation, regulations, procedures and published guidance, participation in negotiation of mining, petroleum and other concession agreements;
• Provide receipts and revenue forecast, including estimates for cash management and type of tax for the Budget, revenue estimates for actual and proposed legislation;
• Perform economic modeling, including development and maintenance of data bases for tax analysis, development of models for tax analysis, including micro simulation models and income distribution effects of current and proposed laws;
• Development of international tax policy, such as negotiation of tax treaties and tax harmonization within ECOWAS;
• Perform other functions, including responding to questions from Parliament; coordinating with macro-economic and budget receipts offices of the MFDP;
• Work closely with the LRA on a number of functions, on which LRA will lead in most cases, including:
o Development of tax policy proposals to improve and simplify tax compliance and tax administration and analysis of the compliance and tax administration implications of legislative proposals;
o Development and publication of an annual tax expenditure budget, measurement of compliance gaps and publication of tax statistics;
o Meeting the Government’s obligations under the Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (LEITI).
