(CPJ/IFEX)- On 24 June 1998, Minister of Information Julius Spencer announced that all editors must pay in full within two weeks any outstanding taxes, or risk closure of their newspapers. The Sierra Leone Journalists Association’s letter protesting the terms of the taxation amendment has not been acknowledged by authorities nor have any of the organization’s […]
(CPJ/IFEX)- On 24 June 1998, Minister of Information Julius Spencer
announced that all editors must pay in full within two weeks any outstanding
taxes, or risk closure of their newspapers. The Sierra Leone Journalists
Association’s letter protesting the terms of the taxation amendment has not
been acknowledged by authorities nor have any of the organization’s concerns
regarding the newly imposed taxation been addressed.
**Updates IFEX alert of 12 June 1998**
Background Information
On 3 June, the Income Tax Department made public an excessive 383% increase
in tax assessments on publishers for this fiscal year beginning in June
1998. The tax assessments appear to have been determined arbitrarily without
the requisite financial audits. All print media, whether they were
operational or not during the 10-month Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
junta rule, are being charged based on the assumption that they were
publishing daily despite the protestations of the affected publishers and
editors. Notice of objections to the taxation procedure can only be
registered after half of the assessed tax is paid (see IFEX alert).
