RPIB urges action to stem revenue leakages
The Revenue Protection Information Bureau (RPIB), a centre for gathering information on revenue leakages, has suggested the need for government to constitute a high level committee to deal with the revenue loss confronting the nation.
This should be a follow up to the three- member ministerial team, which visited the Tema Harbour to protect state revenue.
Mr Thomas O. Mills, Board Member of RPIB told Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra at the weekend that public opinion so far indicate that the move by the team comprising Mr Harunna Iddrisu, Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport and Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Minister of Finance, has gone down well.
This, he said, therefore calls for the constitution of a body that would be mandated to check tax leakages and acts that undermine state revenue.
Mr Mills said apart from the Management of Ghana Revenue Authority there is no organisation that has oversight responsibility over other state institutions collecting revenue.
He alleged that some of these institutions do not pay their tax collections into the consolidated fund and this anomaly is costing the nation dearly.
“As a result a greater percentage of the incoming and outgoing revenue, that is taxes and the consolidated fund are leaking into individuals pockets.
“RPIB is therefore calling on President John Dramani Mahama to put in place a high level ministerial committee that can liaise with importers, exporters, tax collectors, tax payers and all state institutions mandated to collect revenue and report to him on regular basis.
“This will check the unnecessary interference with and intimidation of revenue collectors in their operations making their tasks difficult to execute, “he said.
Mr Mills said since revenue is the life blood of every nation RPIB is calling on the citizenry to join in the fight against revenue leakages; such as ghost names on government pay roll, non compliance with social security and national insurance trust, non- compliance of issuance of value added tax by hotels, restaurants and other organisations.
RPIB teams up with public and civil society organisations to support state authorities to check acts that undermine revenue, due the state.
Other forms include printing and forging of revenue document, illegal exportation of minerals and forest products, failure by officials to issue receipt for money collected on behalf of the state, smuggling of foreign currency, illegal registration of uncustomed vehicles, illegal public auctioning and allocation of vehicles and tax evasion.
Source: GNA