The recently conducted Taxpayer Mapping exercise by the Internal Revenue Commissioner (IRC) in Port Moresby, was not just targeting the businesses owned and operated by Papua New Guineans as claimed by many in the public. The IRC Commissioner Mr. Sam Koim, who had to come out clear on this in a statement to concerns from the public on this exercise, said that some have expressed concerns that the exercise is unfairly targeting locally owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or should be targeting businesses owned by foreigners. “We would like to clarify that the Taxpayer Mapping exercise is not intended to single out any particular sector, nationality, or business size,” said the Commissioner. The exercise is to update the IRC taxpayer register, as more than half of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) holders in NCD could not be identified for tax compliance purposes. “Be assured that we are not in the business of putting anyone out of business,” he stated. “On the contrary, it is in our best interest to ensure that businesses remain operational and continue to contribute their fair share of taxes to the government. Mr. Koim then went on to urge all parties to cooperate with IRC to ensure a smooth and successful completion of this exercise.