The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in partnership with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has extended its education on tax compliance and payment to some communities in the Upper East Region.

The campaign which is a nationwide programme is to educate and sensitize individuals and business organizations on the need to honestly pay their taxes.

It is also in honour of the Commission’s mandate to educate the citizens on tax compliance and their civic rights and responsibilities to their communities and the state.

Mr Samual A. Akolgo, a Senior Education Officer at the Upper East Regional office of the NCCE appealed to citizens and business organizations to view tax payment as their social and civic responsibility to the state and honour those responsibilities to enable government finance most of the development projects and improve on the living condition of the citizens.

He explained that when all citizens and business organizations declared their incomes correctly and honoured their tax obligations it would ease the financial burden on government and reduce borrowing.

“The taxes we pay is an important tool for government to generate revenue to undertake development through creation of jobs, provision of basic social amenities such as electricity, health facilities, potable water and good sanitation, roads, schools, housing, libraries, payment of salaries of public officials and many more”, he said.

He said paying taxes would also involve the citizens in the development agenda and processes by giving them the right to express their concerns on national issues and demand for accountability from public officials who misuse those taxes.

Speaking on the difficulties of tax collection, especially with the private sector, as a result of insufficient knowledge on tax compliance and laws, he said the campaign was the right move to increase national revenue and enhance sustainable development and economic stability.

“The campaign would help track and prevent tax invasion by some Small and Medium Enterprises especially in the informal sector as a result of inadequate knowledge on tax system and tax compliance”, he said.

Mr Ahmed Obah, the Upper East Regional Head of Taxpayers Services, GRA, said the informal sector of the economy was taxed through the Vehicle Income Tax (VIT) and Tax Stamp System to collect tax from vehicle operators and small-scale private individuals respectively.

He urged the public to register their businesses through the Registrar-General’s Department and the Domestic Tax Revenue Department and assured them of quality service delivery at all levels and time.