Device schemes to wean Ghana off donor support - Tettey-Enyo

Accra, Sept. 6, GNA - Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, has advised the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana, to device schemes aimed at increasing the number of professionals for increased revenue generation to wean the country off donor support.

"Again this will help fill the economy with a higher calibre of tax advisers who will accelerate growth in the corporate world while increasing revenue generation for the economy," he said. Mr Tettey-Enyo was speaking on Monday at the launch of the weeklong Annual Tax celebration of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG) in Accra.

The celebration is under the theme: "Encouraging Investment in Ghana: The Need for Tax Policy Review." Mr Tettey-Enyo said although the institute had trained many professionals, there still remained a deficit in tax professionals across the length and breadth of the country. He added that there was the need for CITG to train more tax professionals for increased revenue generation and collection. The Minister advised management of the Institute to roll out continuous professional education and a programme to monitor the performance of their members and to ensure that the practitioners were abreast with modern trends in the profession as well as demands of new tax laws that may emerge on the market. Mr Tettey-Enyo urged them to establish high ethical standards which would lead to a good reputation for the Institute. He said the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana Bill had been sent to the Attorney-General's Office. Mr Tettey-Enyo reiterated the call for the broadening of the tax net and tax types to bring in more people for increased revenue generation.

Mr George Blankson, Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, appealed to the Ministry of Education to consider introducing taxation into the curriculum of basic and secondary schools. He noted that in Japan, the authorities had fixed taxation into the curriculum such that students had to either tour facilities of tax agencies or work on attachment in order to improve their tax consciousness for easy compliance.

Mr Blankson noted that in life, there were two basic certainties, namely death and tax.

"If payment of tax is that important, why do we wait until we grow before we hear of taxes? We must fashion it in the country's education system so that students would grow with that tax-consciousness. "This would promote compliance and assist in mobilization of revenue for national development."

Mr Yaw Asante-Boadi, President of CITG, expressed the hope that the celebration would create the platform for professionals, business community, revenue agencies and the government to discuss ways of improving revenue generation and mobilization.