The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is allegedly harassing businesses under the pretence of collecting taxes, according to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party.
In a conversation with Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry members, he expressed his worries and asked for their advice while the manifesto committee worked on concepts for the 2024 elections.
Dr Bawumia ascribed the current state of affairs to the GRA’s practice of assigning its officials irrational goals, which forces them to tax current companies unjustly.
“They are pestering companies. The targets that are made at their office are the source of that harassment. They’re aiming for impossible goals. The reason for this is that the tax base is so small that when you tell them, “This is your goal for this month,” they are attempting to figure out where to go.
For them, it is then extremely simple; you simply return to your previous location. You approach current taxpayers, who are already paying taxes, and you have to come up with a fresh justification for them to pay more, so you come up with all kinds of things.
Dr Bawumia promised to address this problem by enacting a flat tax rate in 2025 and offering tax amnesty to all enterprises as soon as he took office.
We will begin over in 2025 due to the harassment and the necessity for financial gain. And for that reason, we’re going to start again in 2025 by offering tax amnesty to all firms and individuals.
We will “wipe the slate clean for every individual and business” under the new flat tax system when it goes into effect.
