Government to support GRA to sanction tax evaders

Finance Minister Ken Ofori- Attah has urged taxpayers, especially the elite to set good examples by complying with the tax laws and also promptly pay their taxes.

This according to him will play a critical role in revenue mobilization and also stimulate growth in the private sector to accelerate job creation and prosperity.

He added that the government is determined to widen the tax net in order to make taxation fairer and simpler, whilst ensuring that the simplified automated process makes it convenient for citizens to meet their tax obligations.

Speaking at the GRA forum with top taxpayers, Ken Ofori-Attah assured GRA of government’s support to sanction tax defaulters and evaders.

“To ensure that the government achieves the 2018 revenue targets, we have brought a number of reforms and measures into the tax regime. This initiative will improve the efficiency of our tax administration, reduce cost and enhance taxpayer services. These measures include criminal prosecution where taxpayers willfully flout the law”

“The Commissioner-General has indicated that the transformational agenda includes new initiatives to prosecute tax offenders. It is unfortunate, and yet true that tax defaulters and evaders have in the past barely received a slap on the writ for disregarding our tax laws. I believe it is time we changed this culture of impunity with respect to our tax laws, and I wish to assure the GRA of the government’s support in regards to that” he said.

The GRA has introduced a new initiative dubbed Ghana Revenue Authority Enhancement and Transformation (GREAT)

This initiative aims at changing GRA’s system by simplifying revenue process and introducing innovations to enhance revenue mobilization to meet growing expenditure.

There are three pillars in this transformational process which include changing GRA systems to be comparable to the best revenue administration in the world, investing heavily in the training of GRA staff to build their capacity and also building a mindset of constant improvement through sourcing for ideas to change and improve GRA.