The spokesperson of the Gambia Police Force has told The Point that all the lawyers and doctors that were summoned by the police on Monday over tax issues must pay their taxes owed to the state.
ASP Yerro Mballow, who was speaking to The Point yesterday, confirmed that lawyers Antouman Gaye, Surahata Janneh, Ousainou Darboe, Musa N. Bittaye, Amie Bensouda, Ida Drammeh, Omar D. Mbye, and Sheriff Marie Tambedou were among those summoned, and are currently on police bail.
The police mouthpiece also confirmed to this paper that doctors, namely Adama Sallah and Alieu Gaye, one Kebba Nyimansata Darboe and Augustus Prom, a chartered accountant, were also invited by the police and are also on police bail.
According to him, all those invited have not been charged with any offence but “must pay their outstanding tax”, which, he added, “they failed to pay.”
It is worth noting that the senior lawyers and doctors were Friday invited at the Kairaba Police Station, where they were asked to report back to the Police Headquarters in Banjul on Monday.
“Yes, they reported today,” Mballow further stated, confirming that the invited persons reported to the police headquarters on Monday.
The move by the police followed days after the Commission of Enquiry into Tax Evasion and other Corrupt Practices submitted its report to President Yahya Jammeh.
The report revealed, among others, that the government lost more than D2 billion from 50 selected taxpayers re-assessed on income, sales and payee tax, as well as D3,838,106.80 bututs for capital gains tax of 14 transactions of sales of leasehold properties.
The report revealed that the total outstanding amount of tax debt of selected taxpayers re-assessed was D20,711,239.07 for 10 legal practitioners, D5,370,707.13 for 7 medical practitioners, D98,537,355.76 for 6 insurance companies, D439,503,816.98 for 12 hotels, D15,263,390.93 for 7 consultants and engineers, and D1,945,70,081.70 for eight other companies.
