GRA unveils digital blueprint to unlock informal sector’s tax potential

The Ghana Revenue Authority has outlined a determined digital roadmap to expand tax compliance within the country’s vast informal sector, pledging to simplify processes, reduce costs, and build trust between taxpayers and the state.

Speaking at the third edition of the Society of Women in Taxation (SWIT) Conference in Accra on August 19, Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Elsie Appau-Klu, said the authority’s reforms were designed to “make voluntary compliance easy” while creating a fairer and more transparent system.

The conference, organised by SWIT under the Chartered Institute of Taxation Ghana (CITG), was held under the theme “Leveraging Technology to Unlock the Revenue Potential of the Informal Sector for National Development” and the sub-theme “Empowering Women through Self-Love and Self-Care for National Development”.

According to Mrs Appau-Klu, the informal economy remains the heartbeat of Ghana’s markets, transport, services, and livelihoods, but its size and diversity have long posed challenges for equitable taxation.

“Bringing more of the informal economy into the tax net is not about squeezing livelihoods. It is about fairness, predictability, and better public services,” she stated.

She outlined six pillars of the GRA’s new strategy, beginning with simple digitisation and onboarding. “We are linking taxpayer identification more seamlessly to national identity systems to reduce duplication and allow individuals and small businesses to move from first contact to first filing in minutes, not months,” she said.

The second pillar involves tailoring obligations to the realities of micro and small enterprises through a modified taxation programme. This approach, she explained, would replace complexity with clarity by introducing “simple thresholds, simple records, and fair payments.”

Thirdly, the GRA is working to enable payments through familiar platforms such as mobile money, QR codes, and agent banking systems. “No long queues, no printing forms—every cedi paid is acknowledged transparently,” Appau-Klu said, insisting that accessibility is key to compliance.

The other pillars include scaling up electronic services such as e-filing, e-tax clearance certificates, and e-invoicing; responsible use of data for service and enforcement; and equipping frontline officers with digital tools to make compliance faster and less burdensome.

However, she emphasized that technology alone would not drive compliance. “People comply when the rules are clear, when the process is simple, and the benefits are visible,” she noted.

For this reason, she revealed the GRA is set to roll out a nationwide Sustained Tax Education Programme using plain language in English and local dialects, with community-based activations.

“We will work with transport unions, market queens, cooperatives, and digital platforms to make compliance a habit… Trust remains the backbone of every tax system,” she said.

Mrs Appau-Klu enlisted the support of SWIT and other professional associations to support the GRA through mentorship, sector-specific guidance, pro bono tax clinics, and research on gender-related compliance barriers.

She disclosed that the Commissioner-General would soon launch flagship programmes, including a modified taxation system tailored to SMEs and informal traders, as well as a simplified tax education campaign.

These reforms, she said, would make it easier for traders and artisans, many of whom cannot afford professional accountants or lawyers, to meet their obligations.

“Paying tax is a civic duty because Ghana can only be built by Ghanaians. When we commit to paying tax, the government mobilises the right revenues for development,” she stressed,

SWIT Chairperson Esi Sam commended the GRA’s approach, noting that women remain at the centre of informal economic activity.

She also encouraged female administrators and practitioners to humanise taxation processes in order to increase taxpayer compliance.

“As women practitioners and administrators, we are not just implementing systems but humanising them. If taxpayers see the human face of taxation, their willingness to comply increases.” Madam Sam said.