Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged the Ghana Revenue Authority to find better ways of expanding the tax net to generate more revenue instead of harassing existing taxpayers.
In a stakeholder engagement with members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) on Wednesday, the Vice President blamed the frequent harassment by GRA officials of businesses on unrealistic targets given to them.
“They are harassing businesses. That harassment is coming from the sort of target that is created at their office. They are setting unrealistic targets. And this is because the tax base is so narrow. You say to them, This is your target for this month, and they are trying to figure out where I go,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
“Then for them, it is very easy; you go back to where you had it the last time. You go to taxpayers, the people who are already paying taxes, and then you have to come up with a new reason why they should pay more, and so you come up with all sorts of stuff,” he added.
The NPP flagbearer repeated his pledge to roll out a flat tax rate scheme while granting tax amnesty to businesses in 2025, if elected president.
He said, “We are going to start with a clean slate in 2025. And that is why, in 2025, we are going to grant a tax amnesty to all businesses and individuals and start afresh. So we are going to start the new system; it’s a flat tax system, so we are going to wipe the slate clean for every individual and business.”
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