An economist, Courage Boti, has urged the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to take decisive action against businesses that fail to fulfill their tax responsibilities to the government.
Mr. Boti said, “This is one of the surest ways to deal with revenue shortfalls and mobilization challenges.”
He was speaking on Joy News’ program dubbed ‘PM Express Business Edition’ on Thursday.
Additionally, he contended that resolving tax compliance issues would not put pressure on the government to introduce new taxes or push for increases.
“We have too many taxes in this country, and there is no need to introduce a new one to raise the required revenue to support the government’s expenditure,” he stated.
“If we are heavy on compliance in this country, we can raise the required revenue to address the low tax-to-GDP ratio as well as meet the country’s rising expenditure,” he indicated.
However, he stressed that “compliance is the way to look at how the economy is currently expanding.”
Mr. Boti’s proposals followed fears that the government could be compelled to increase fees and charges and introduce new taxes after scrapping the E-Levy, betting tax, and the COVID-19 levy.
The government could lose about GH¢10 billion every year if the E-Levy, betting tax, and the COVID-19 levy are removed.
Finance Minister Dr. Forson, during his recent vetting in parliament, reiterated the government’s commitment to go ahead and remove the taxes.
The Ghana Revenue Authority ended 2024 by mobilizing GH¢153 billion in tax revenue, 5.2 percent more than the GH¢145 billion projected for 2025.
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