Monrovia – The government’s drive to strengthen Liberia’s domestic resource base is gaining momentum, with the Liberia Revenue Authority reporting US$954.7 million in revenue collections for Fiscal Year 2026 while advancing new measures aimed at reducing tax leakages and improving compliance.
LRA Commissioner-General James Dorbor Jallah announced the latest revenue performance Wednesday during a Revenue Performance and Revenue Measures and Policies Review Meeting in Monrovia.
Jallah credited the progress to continued collaboration between the LRA, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and other government institutions.
The latest collection figure places the government within reach of US$1 billion in domestic revenue and keeps the administration on course toward its US$1.3 billion target for 2026.
But officials say the significance of the revenue drive extends beyond reaching a particular financial target.
The government is increasingly positioning domestic revenue mobilization as a foundation for fiscal sustainability and the implementation of its development priorities.
Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan stressed that continued collaboration between his ministry and the LRA is essential to maintaining strong revenue performance.
According to Ngafuan, increased domestic revenue is critical to financing government development programs and reducing reliance on external resources.
The Minister urged revenue authorities and other government revenue-generating entities to maintain the momentum by improving tax administration, strengthening compliance and deepening engagement with taxpayers.
His message was clear: achieving a higher revenue target cannot be treated as a one-time accomplishment.
Instead, the government must build a revenue system capable of consistently generating the resources required to finance national priorities.
“We have to keep the focus because the more we do, the more we are challenged to do because the expectations of our people are high,” Ngafuan said.
He cited the first-year implementation report of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, arguing that progress is being made in sectors including roads, health, education and agriculture.
“We have done much, but there is much more we must do and will do,” he said.
The administration’s revenue strategy includes efforts to modernize tax administration through technology.
Among the measures being introduced are electronic fiscal devices, which the government says will help address some of the weaknesses traditionally associated with revenue collection.
Authorities say the devices are intended to reduce tax leakages, strengthen compliance, simplify the tax filing process and improve the government’s ability to monitor revenue-generating activities.
The push toward digitalized revenue collection reflects a broader effort to make the tax system more transparent and efficient.
For the government, improving compliance is potentially as important as increasing tax rates.
A more effective collection system can allow the state to capture revenue that may otherwise be lost through underreporting, weak monitoring or other forms of leakage.
The approach also places greater emphasis on taxpayers and the relationship between businesses, individuals and government.
Officials say stronger engagement with taxpayers is necessary to improve voluntary compliance and build a more sustainable domestic revenue base.
The US$954.7 million already collected provides evidence of substantial revenue-generation capacity, but officials acknowledge that the work is far from finished.
The government is still pursuing the US$1.3 billion target for 2026.
That means the revenue authority must continue collecting additional resources while maintaining public confidence in the tax system.
For the Boakai administration, stronger domestic revenue collection could have broader economic and political implications.
Greater domestic fiscal capacity can give government more flexibility in determining how and when to finance national priorities.
It can also reduce the extent to which essential development programs depend on external funding.
But increased domestic revenue comes with an equally important responsibility.
Citizens and businesses contributing more to the state will expect greater accountability in how public resources are managed.
The credibility of the revenue effort will therefore depend not only on collection figures but also on the government’s ability to demonstrate that those resources are being converted into meaningful public benefits.
Minister Ngafuan reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening resource mobilization as a foundation for fiscal sustainability and implementation of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
The LRA’s current performance suggests that the administration has made significant progress toward its revenue objectives.
Yet the next phase could prove even more important.
