The Minister of Finance, Ericah Shafudah, said the government will soon roll out plans to fully digitise the process for submitting annual income tax returns.

She said the ministry is currently challenged by the fact that many taxpayers remain accustomed to using hard copies for this exercise instead of fully embracing digital solutions.

Shafudah was reacting to an urgent oral question from Swapo Party MP Willem Amutenya about when the ministry intends to fully digitise the issuance and submission of PAYE certificates.

"The ministry conducted a cost-benefit assessment of maintaining this paper-based process, particularly at a time when our government faces significant fiscal constraints," she said.

The minister agreed with the observation that the tax system and accounting system are not yet fully integrated to allow for the seamless electronic exchange of information.

However, she stated taxpayers are still able to request their PAYE certificates electronically, which will allow the government to email the certificate directly to the taxpayer, who can upload that electronic copy together with the required supporting documents when submitting their tax returns to NamRA.

"It's a critical one because it provides information on how much you have been paying to the receiver during that period. So I fully agree with your observation, Honourable Member, to say that the tax system and the accounting system that we use are not completely integrated to allow for the exchange of this information electronically."