Ghana Revenue Authority educates the public on tax payment

As part of efforts to mobilise revenue to spearhead national development, the Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) has rolled out a sensitisation programme to reach out to the tax-paying public.

The programme, which is a sequel to the national tax campaign launched in Accra recently is to among others create tax awareness and education to the tax paying public especially those in the informal sector to honour their tax obligations to the state.

Employees of the GRA went on a float through the central business district of Takoradi popularly called the market circle amidst brass band music to tease the business community out to the programme.

Speaking to the media after the exercise, an Assistant Commissioner at the Takoradi GRA Small Tax Office (STO),Mr Peter Ben Baah appealed to  prospective tax payers to register with the GRA calling on debtors to the authority to also settle their outstanding debts.

He warned against tax evasion and called for an agreement between the GRA and businesses on the mode of payments.

A Medium Tax Payer Officer(MTO) at the Takoradi office, Madam Lysbeth Martin-Peprah who spoke to the GNA on the sidelines, said GRA had trained mobile workers to collect taxes with a record system(database) which monitor all tax payers to honour their tax obligations, disclosing that about 500 tax payers under her outfit in the Western Region, honoured their tax obligations to the state.

Responding to agitations by some tax payers on the 3 per cent new tax regime introduced by the government, she said the GRA would continue to intensify its education on the need to pay the new tax rate and warned that tax payers who refused to pay their taxes at a stipulated period, would pay interest, have their offices or shops sealed off or be arraigned before the law court.

Source: GNA