Tax Court: Company leaders will bear punishment for tax default – Tax Analyst

A tax analyst Timore Francis Boi has stated that the establishment of the tax court will help clamp down on tax defaulters.

He said the leadership of companies who commit offences will bear the punishment meted out to them.

"Punishment for the offences committed by companies is expected to be borne by the leadership of the organizations in default,” he said.

Speaking on the back of the decision to establish a tax court, Mr Boi noted that the move will greatly aid the government’s efforts at meeting its Domestic Non-Oil Tax Revenue for 2021.

According to him, the new development will enable the government to rope in revenue and also serve as a deterrent to defaulters.

“It’s going to serve a very strong warning to persons who don’t like paying taxes. If you look at Section 80 of the Revenue Administration ACT, it says that failure to pay taxes can lead to you being imprisoned. So if you see your colleague going to prison for some tax offence you are likely to learn from that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Kwesi Anin Yeboah has stated that the move to establish a tax court will assist in the government’s efforts to handle prosecutions of Tax cases properly.

However, according to the 2021 budget, Total Revenue and Grants for this year is pegged at GH¢72.4 billion, equivalent to 16.7 per cent of GDP, out of which Domestic Revenue is estimated at GH¢70.9 billion. Of the total Domestic Revenue, Non-oil Tax Revenue will constitute about 74 per cent and amount to GH¢53.6 billion, equivalent to 12.4 per cent of GDP, reflecting the impact of expected improvements in tax compliance and reforms in revenue administration.