MRA seals Malawi media giant Times Group over K550m unpaid taxes
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday sealed Malawi’s oldest media house Times Group over alleged Value Added Tax arrears,totaling up to K550 million the company owes the tax body dating back to November 2016.
Armed police accompanied by MRA officials stormed the Jonhstone Road based newspaper, Radio and Television giant around mid day and sealed the premises.
Group Chief executive Leonard Chikadya refused to comment when contacted but sources within Times confirmed the seal and that Company Secretary Innocent Mnowanyama Kaluwa had dashed to the High Court to seek an injunction against the tax collecting body.
Times which has been in the forefront in the coverage of the current face off between President Peter Mutharika and vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima, feels the MRA action is a way of silencing the critical media house.
Staff at Times Group complained that the action comes before salaries for June were paid to juniors, yet top management led by Chikadya paid themselves their executive salaries by May 18.
” It is sad that this incident is happening when top management collected their pay cheques” said TV presenter who refused to be named.
MRAs decision comes as a shock to Chikadya who had been spared by the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) after he struck a deal with Director General Godfrey Itaye to throw under the carpet any negative stories including alleged corruption rampant at Macra.
Three platforms, print, radio and TV chose to burry their heads in the sand as the Anti Corruption Bureau pounced on Macra DG Itaye who secretly struck a deal with Chikadya who is close friend to Simon Itaye, an uncle to Godfrey Itaye.
“They struck a silent deal that as long as Godfrey Itaye is DG, Times TV and Radio licences would be renewed without any hussles in return for a total blackout on any corruption news story involving Macra and Itaye in particular. ”
Itayes Personal Assistant Ulanda Maluza said her boss was out to Lilongwe for meeting and demanded an emailed questionnaire on the allegations.
Last year MRA sealed Times Group on the same tax issue.
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Times ndi khalidwe lanu, you never pay taxes because all the money goes to fattening the pockets of bosses in your corporate office. How come Nation is also critical of government and their offices are never sealed? It’s because Nation pays it’s taxes. Just honor government taxes and you will be untouchable. You can’t claim watchdog status and yet you fail to lead by example and pay taxes. Chaka chilichonse witch-hunting izingosata inu? Muli ndi vuto ndinu. Please MRA continue witch hunting them. We Malawians are on your side. Time is gone when a media house put spins on stories to suit their companies. Now we consumers ask them to account, we use social media and comments as our platform. Viva to tax compliant companies and citizens!!
Last sentence puts us in suspense. So what happened next? Did Times pay their taxes for them to be allowed to operate again? Or did they agree to a payment plan? Or did they bribe someone?
KOMA ANTHU AMVA ZITHU MUKAMATSEKA NYUMBA ZUULUTSIRA MAU MWAZINDIKIRA LITI KUTI MULI NDI NGONGOLE NDI TIMES .MRA MUKUGONATU MPAKA MUMASIYA NGONGOLE KUMACHULUKA CHONCHO MUKUGANIZA KUTI ABWENZA BWANJI.?
Just honour your legal obligation and continue attack the government full stop. Stop giving lame excuses here. It’s a reminder that you should be clean before you bad mouth your friend
Time is out 2019 you will be gone very fast, Is M.B.C. paying taxes when it is asking more money from Government when people are paying taxes. The madala team is gone 20 19 may. So many T.V. stations which are of low quality.
This is a negative reporting. Why presenting too many news here
June salary? Should be May. Of course it is true at Times the managers pay themselves early and the juniors are paid late, mostly in the following month
Paja MBC ili ndi ngongole ya zingati?
Let us politicising some issue like payment of Tax. We import goods in the country and we pay our duty, what is wrong with Times not to pay what it owes to government. Yes they talk a lot but that has nothing to do with the failure of management to see what is right. Lucky you are if it was in Europe , you will end up in court and no court injunctions. The management has just received their cheques and are happy. Please courts , don’t grant any injunction in this matter, as a local I pay my duty. Kailua is struggling with court issue for failing to pay duty as is said, don’t know which one is true, why big company like Times be left free to enjoy. Other companies are paying, what is so special with Times. Politics aside, let them honour the tax.
As media house should live with prudent example every one is under the law
Am at pains not to believe this is not political but suffice to say disturbing business of a company as big as Times Group in our poor economy for a mere K550m is shooting ourselves in the foot. How much does this company make per day? It must be millions as well. Why not empound 3 or 4 executive cars? Malawi sazatheka
Mutharika Revenue Authority leave Times alone and focus on your battle with SKC. Mwanayutu akakukomolani ku Convention ndi usiru umenewu.
This is interesting particularly when you look at the timing of the action. Remember too that there are many organizations in Malawi that are not remitting taxes. Lets’ face facts: the economy in Malawi has become too biting to most organizations and businesses. The private sector is falling apart. Unfortunately, the 2018-19 national budget will worsen the situation in the private sector for two reasons: a) due to the huge deficit, government will borrow from commercial banks to fund its core activities – making it difficult for the private sector to borrow from such banks b) no real solutions to power blackouts have been provided in the budget. Closing down institutions, particularly media houses, will not solve this problem. Government first needs to make sure that it is investing in areas that will enable companies, like Times Groups, realise profits. It is from such profits that the private sector will be able to pay tax.
Too bad for times. But, I don’t think that this approach will help the country.
Kent Y.G. Mphepo – Blantyre.
Times Media owes MRA K550 M and MBC owes MRA K2,000 M. Who should be fore closed?
Seal the Times Group but SKC will seal you
Abuse of power by MRA. How many organisations owe MRA more than K500million. Most businesses owned by the very top politicians in DPP owe MRA billions of Kwachas and yet nothinh happens to them. Anyway, what goes around….comes around and those who think they’re powerful today, will be at the very bottom tomorrow. If it’s not going to be here on earth then certainly going to be in jehena.
Please, do not connect this issue with politics. You should just settle the tax bills and then you get out of the huck of MRA. Ngati ife ordinary Malawians we pay tax, what more with a company.
ndale zalowapo apa hahahahah boma ili….. nonsense…. ndiye tizimvera radio chani?????
mutiuze inu a boma la nonsense