A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, has advised the government to leverage the National Identification Card, otherwise known as Ghana Card, to beef up tax revenue collection efforts.

She stated that this will bridge the revenue collection gap arising from informal sector loopholes that existed in previous years.

Speaking about her expectations on Joy News ahead of the presentation of the 2025 Budget by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, she said that Ghana Card has exposed loopholes in the national data system that informal sector actors took advantage of to escape the tax system.

“Ghana Card has exposed weaknesses in the national data system which directly impacted revenue collection. They should leverage this identity card system to fish out informal sector operators who were not easily reached and romp them into the tax net,” she said.

She cautioned against additional taxes and indicated that she is hopeful that the government will make an allocation to road network expansion, as it plans to reintroduce road tolls.

“I hope that with the reintroduction of road tolls, the government will make an allocation to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to fund uncompleted road projects,” she said.

Meanwhile, there is high anticipation among Ghanaians that E-Levy, Betting Tax, Sanitation Tax, COVID-19 Levy, among others, will be scrapped as promised by the government in the 2025 Budget presentation.



VPO/AE