A senior lecturer with the school of economics, university of Cape Coast, Dr. Francis Kwaw Andoh has urged Ghanaians to honour their civic obligations by paying their taxes to help generate domestic revenue to help meet the country’s development goals.
According to him the poor tax paying culture of many Ghanaians have over the years denied the country millions of cedis which has resulted in the slow rate of development.
A recent exercise conducted by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) revealed that over 60,000 business professionals have not been paying their taxes. The president Nana Akufo Addo subsequently warned members of the legal fraternity fond of tax evasion to honor their tax obligation when he spoke at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) held in Bolgatanga.
Reacting to this development on the ATLANTIC WAVE Wednesday, Dr. Andoh stressed that mobilising adequate domestic revenue is crucial for Ghana to be as self-financing as much as possible.
“Government has seen that we cannot continue to rely on the external donors to finance our development so we need to look within to raise revenue and it is the contribution from us that will help. If I pay my tax honestly and you pay your tax honestly, then we can make headway” he reiterated.
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Meanwhile Executive Director of Revenue Mobilization Africa, Geoffrey Ocansey says ineffective communication of taxes to tax payers is what accounts for the level of tax evasion in the country.
According to him, it appears supposed taxpayers do not really understand why they need to pay taxes, coupled with unfavorable payment processes.
Adding his voice to the growing conversation of tax payment issues in the country, Mr. Ocansey said communicating taxes effectively to people and ensuring accountability for taxes paid is the sure way to go.
Source: Vera Siripi & Lydia Sekyi Acquah/ ATLFMNEWS
