Expand Tax Net to rope in defaulters-TDCL

Tema, April 11, GNA - The Tema District Council of Labour (TFCL) has appealed to the government to devise workable strategies to expand the tax net.

This, in the Council's said, would help rope in self-styled businessmen and women as well as other tax defaulters. This was contained in a resolution passed by members of the Council at their general meeting and signed by Mr Wilson Agana and Mr Ebenezer Kodwo Taylor, Chairman and Secretary respectively. The TDCL suggested that the tax threshold on salaries must go with the annual budget and must be reviewed to take effect every January.

The Council urged the Tripartite Committee to re-convene to review the tax threshold on incomes and salaries.

The TDCL's resolve stemmed from some observations that the new tax threshold, which only covered the minimum wage, was woefully inadequate as its effect on the incomes of the working class was insignificant.

It further said the tax bands were too close, thus rendering any upward adjustments of the tax threshold ineffective. The Council said the government had over the years failed and shirked its responsibility to expand the tax net to cover the business community in the informal sector who earned far higher incomes than workers in the formal sector.

He said incomes of workers in the formal sector were overburdened with taxes, that is, first through the direct tax system, and additionally, indirectly through the numerous bills, commodities, goods and services consumed by workers.