Staff Reporter
Windhoek-Given the looming income tax deadline at the end of June, Standard Bank decided to assist private banking clients to complete their income tax returns efficiently and correctly through a digital system called PwC’s TaxTim.
The Standard Bank private banking team purchased and distributed e-vouchers to their clients to access the TaxTim Namibia website free of charge.
TaxTim is a digital tax assistant which helps taxpayers complete and file their tax return quickly, easily and correctly online. Through this platform clients can obtain all three of the Namibian tax returns, namely: Salaried individuals including pensioners use the brown return form, individuals with employees with salary structures and allowances and other income rentals or investments use the blue return form and lastly the yellow return form is meant for business owners or farmers.
“We would like to encourage all our private banking customers to make use of this opportunity of getting their tax records sorted out, as Standard Bank provides this benefit to our private clients free of charge. TaxTim will help you complete your tax return for you instantly putting everything in the right place. All you have to do is simply answer a series of questions in a conversation with Tim on the TaxTim website and he will complete your return based on your responses. TaxTim will add up all the amounts and calculate your tax liability/refund. Once done, you can then simply print and sign the tax return and submit it to Inland Revenue. As TaxTim will remind you, it is important to print two copies and ask Inland Revenue to date stamp the second copy as proof that your return was submitted,” said Standard Bank’s head of private banking Britt du Plessis.
With regard to the current tax amnesty, Standard Bank appreciates the window of opportunity that the government has granted to all taxpayers with outstanding debt to get into the tax net in a meaningful way.
“For the past six months the government has created a conducive time frame which enables everyone to come clear of the tax burden,” said Du Plessis, adding that this is the very reason why the bank opted to assist private banking clients to complete their income tax returns efficiently and correctly through TaxTim.
Ever since February this year, the bank has also been supporting private and business banking clients through granting them financial assistance in the form of a loan to cover outstanding debt.
“The added cash flow assisted them to pay off the debts in a manageable way over a certain period. This was our way of offering financial planning for our clients and assisting them in sorting out their tax situation,” said Du Plessis.