Wood workers asked to patronise tax stamp

Kumasi, March 2, GNA- Members of the Wood Workers Association of Ghana have been called upon to register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and patronise the new tax stamp introduced by the Service to include the informal sector in the tax net.

Mr Nicholas T. Okae, a Principal Inspector of Taxes, who made the call, said it was a matter of regret that most wood workers in the Ashanti Region had not registered with the IRS. Mr Okae was addressing a general meeting of the Regional branch of the Association in Kumasi to review their activities for last year. He enumerated the advantages of paying taxes, emphasising that for one to even acquire a piece of land for development the person must possess an IRS income tax clearance certificate. Mr Okae said as wood workers, they were also required to pay their income taxes regularly and warned them that they risked being prosecuted if they failed to do so.

Mr Reynolds A. Debrah, Regional Chairman of the Association, said members paid 43.2 million cedis tax to the government last year and expressed the hope that the figure would be exceeded this year. Mr Theophilus Kpegan, Regional Secretary of the Association, enumerated the difficulties members faced with regards to the acquisition of wood and said this situation had adversely affected productivity.