$19m recovered in salary overpayments
Published:Wednesday | January 12, 2022 | 12:12 AM
Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) says it has recovered salary overpayment of a little more than $19 million for the last two financial years, but the department has failed to make full disclosure on the extent of excessive sums paid to workers.
A review by the Pamela Monroe Ellis-led Auditor General’s Department of the TAJ’s records showed recoveries of salary overpayment totalling $10.82 million and $8.45 million for the financial years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, respectively.
This was outlined in the 2021 annual report of the auditor general that was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
However, Monroe Ellis said that despite requests by her department, the TAJ did not submit for audit scrutiny the schedule of total overpayments for the financial years.
Monroe Ellis said she found no evidence that the overpayments were reported internally to management or externally to the accountant general, the financial secretary, or her department as stipulated under Section 5.13.18 of the Financial Instructions.
Given that neither TAJ’s management nor the auditor general was provided with the total salary overpayments for the financial years mentioned, Monroe Ellis said that there was little assurance that full and timely recoveries were being made.
The auditor general reminded the TAJ that overpayment in compensation was contrary to the focus and efforts of the Government to effectively manage the public-sector wage bill.
“In the absence of controls to ensure the accuracy of the salaries being paid within the stipulated threshold, there is the likelihood of continued overpayments being made,” she added.
The TAJ reportedly accepted the findings of the auditor general and pledged to investigate all overpayments and said that appropriate action would be taken.
Monroe Ellis said that up to the time of reporting, TAJ had not submitted the schedules of overpayment for 2018-19 and 2019-20 by December 10, 2021, as promised.
The auditor general recommended that the TAJ implement controls to prevent any further recurrence of overpayment in compensation. Monroe Ellis said that this should include timely preparation and accurate review of the payroll information along with prompt communication between human resource management and the salaries unit.