President Paul Kagame has commended the resilience of Rwandans towards exceeding the country’s revenue collection targets by over Rwf60.1 billion last year, despite Covid-19 limitations.

Kagame made the remarks while officiating the 19th Taxpayers Appreciation Day celebrations and awards ceremony at Intare Arena.

"Even with the challenges created by the pandemic, you remained committed and contributed to our country’s economic development. In the last fiscal year, we exceeded our total revenue collection target,” the head of state said.

He hailed the government’s efforts put in place to provide strategic tax relief to individuals and business, as part of the efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the country’s economy and on families.

For instance, he said that income taxes were temporarily waived for employees in highly affected sectors, such as education and tourism.

Ultimately, taxes are an investment in ourselves, in Rwanda’s current and future prosperity and well-being, the head of state asserted.

"We are fortunate to have public institutions that use these resources well, and provide tangible benefits, that we can see and feel.”

Kagame also warned those that have not paid their taxes, stressing that the vice deprives the country to further achieve economic freedom.

"I can say without reservation, that a big part of the reason we are able to celebrate these achievements here today, is because of our collective resilience and dedication of our people.”

Taxpayer celebrations are held annually to acknowledge tax payers in different categories for their commitment towards paying taxes.

Data from the taxman indicate that total tax and non-tax revenue collections amounted to Rwf1,654.5 billion, representing a 9.4 increase against the Rwf1,594.3 billion target.

RRA is optimistic that the collections are set to increase to Rwf1,755.5 billion with a nominal increase of Rwf120.1 billion, according to Commissioner-General Pascal Ruganintwali.

During the event more than 30 taxpayers were awarded for their significant contribution to improved tax revenue collection.

"As we recover from the pandemic, we are optimistic that the target will be achieved, through various strategies like further digitizing of our services as well as mobilization,” said Ruganintwali.