GRA tasked to generate GH?34bn revenue

 

By Bernice Bessey

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been tasked to generate GH¢34 billion in tax revenue for the 2017 fiscal year, despite the abolishment and reduction in some tax components in the government’s first budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emmanuel Kofi Nti, who dropped the hint in Accra on Friday, parried aside concerns raised by sections of the public that the revenue target was over-ambitious, mainly because the Authority could not realise its targeted revenue of GH¢29.2 billion in 2016.

According to him, the Authority could not achieve its 2016 targets due to low taxes from payees, and income tax targets were expanded based on an anticipated increase of 15% in salaries, adding, “however, salaries rose at an average of 12.5%. The Civil Service, which has the greatest number of employees, had an increase of about 10%. This, therefore, had a negative effect on taxes from payees.”

Corporate tax, he explained, performed low, contributing to the fall in tax collection, adding that tax increases on operational cost of businesses also contributed to the shortfall in the 2016 tax revenue generation.

Continuing, the GRA Commissioner General said as a result high operational costs, some top taxpayers revised their self-assessments downwards, especially in the last quarter of the year, and such downwards revisions amounted to GH¢46.86 million.

Mr. Kofi Nti explained that the banks also failed to contribute their 19.3% of the overall target revenue, which dropped to 12.8%, stressing that “the financial sector, especially the banks, which are the leading contributors to corporate tax, reduced their assessments by GH¢144 million, due to higher anticipated costs, resulting in low profits and taxes.

“The extra costs were mainly attributed to bad debts resulting from the over-exposure of 26 banks which financed a cocoa purchasing company and a group of companies that went bankrupt,” he explained.

He continued that revenue generated on imports also shortchanged, as GH¢41,357 million was collected instead of GH¢42,976.76 million, which was a negative deviation of GH¢1,619.73 million, representing 3.77%.

In order to address and prevent these shortcomings of the GRA, the Commissioner-General announced 11 measures to be used to enhance tax collection in the country.

Among these measures are increasing the number of audits, regular external visits and inspections of taxpayers’ businesses to retrieve outstanding taxes, and vigorous monitoring of holders of mining leases to ensure prompt payment of mineral royalties.

Speaking on the tax bail on some imported goods like spare parts, he appealed to the dealers to honour their tax returns of the 3% flat rate they are to charge on sales.

He, however, said the Authority would implement revenue enhancement measures this year to meet its target, and further mentioned interventions such as regular tax audits, visits to businesses to retrieve outstanding taxes, and field monitoring by GRA officials to businesses, to ensure high compliance for Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Health Insurance levies as other means of realising the revenue targets.

Other measures include regular engagements with taxpayers and stakeholders to honour their tax obligations, intensify public education to ensure voluntary compliance, staff motivation and capacity building, as well as providing logistics to tax collectors for them to work effectively and efficiently.

The GRA boss observed that the media was an indispensable partner in the dissemination of relevant tax information to the public, and expressed the hope that the collaboration between the GRA and the media would inure to their mutual benefits.

“GRA greatly appreciate your partnership and co-operation in the area of dissemination of tax information and public education.

“We will continue to count on you for balanced reports and analysis on tax issues for your readers, listeners and viewers, for our mutual benefits,” he stated.

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  By Bernice Bessey The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been tasked to generate GH¢34 billion in tax revenue for the 2017 fiscal year, despite the abolishment and reduction in some tax components in the government’s first budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta. The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority […]

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