As part of efforts to increase revenue, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) launched the tax and good governance week to sensitize the populace, especially eligible taxpayers, on the need for voluntary compliance in honoring their tax obligations to the state and filing tax returns.
The programme was launched on Friday 6th April, 2018 at the forecourt of GRA Regional Office with the theme, “Filing your Tax Returns, your Civic Responsibility”.
The “Tax and Good Governance Week” programme is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and the GRA.
The week-long programme is geared towards enhancing tax compliance, with a focus on the filing of income tax returns and also their compliance measures being undertaken by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The Regional Ag. Assistant Commissioner of GRA, Mr. Ebenezer Mensah underscored the need to file our taxes in accordance with the Incomes Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) and the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915). The law requires individuals and entities to file their income tax returns by the end of April every year.
Mr. Ebenezer Mensah appealed to business owners in the region to register their businesses with the GRA to help increase the filing rate and tax revenue in the region for developmental purposes.
In his address, the Ag. Upper West Regional Minister Hon. Amidu Chinnia Issahaku said the programme was a step in the right direction to the realization of making Ghana self – reliant and a country beyond aid in fulfilment of the vision of the President of the Republic of Ghana.
Hon. Chinnia Issahaku mentioned that revenue mobilization in the country has not kept pace with the ever growing demands of citizens for development projects and better services from government.
He added that Government has declared a tax amnesty to enable taxpayers register, file returns and make any outstanding payments for previous years without the imposition of interest and penalties or prosecution. This is to ensure voluntary compliance by the tax payer.
He stressed that H.E the President has directed that as a sign of good faith, all Ministers of State, Government Appointees and Public Officials are required to file their returns before the deadline of April 30th 2018.
He encouraged all individuals and business owners to file their tax returns as he has done for the year 2017 to enable government undertake some developmental projects in the Region.
SOURCE: JULIUS DUDIMAH