The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mona Helen Quartey, has appealed to businesses to truthfully honour their tax obligations to boost revenue mobilization.
This, she said, would enable government to make up for the expected shortfall in earnings and close the budget deficit.
Helen Quartey, who made this known at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) 2014 stakeholders’ awards night, said the recent distress actions by the Authority to retrieve taxes from recalcitrant taxpayers constitute a clarion call to those who inadvertently evade taxes.
She said GRA had portrayed through its actions that it would reward where necessary and impose the necessary sanctions depending on the prevailing situation.
‘We must all support government to pursue the development agenda,’ Helen Quartey said.
She urged GRA to strengthen its enforcement and compliance processes to boost revenue mobilization.
Millison Narh, Deputy Governor Bank of Ghana (BoG), in his remarks, said tax mobilization was a collaborative effort between tax administrators and the taxpayer, stressing the need to work closely with development partners to mobilise the needed revenue for government’s development agenda.
George Blankson, Commissioner-General of the GRA, in his speech, urged taxpayers who were yet to register for the new tax identification numbers to do so, explaining that ‘it is the only way to ensure that the GRA provides the best of service to them.’
Touching on reforms by GRA, he said, ‘We are now operating on the philosophy of tax harvesting, which means that when we are able to cultivate the taxpayers we may harvest a lot more.’
The 2014 awards was on the theme: ‘Consolidating integration, promoting growth and enhanced revenue mobilization for national development.’
The event was to show appreciation to taxpayers and partners for their support.
Thirteen corporate taxpayers, four embassies and development organizations were honoured for their contributions.
Scancom Limited emerged the overall best taxpayer in the large taxpayer category, while Ecobank Ghana and Kasapreko placed second and third respectively.
By Cephas Larbi
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