GRA targets nearly 22 billion cedis

The Ghana Revenue Authority has said it is focused on meeting its tax revenue target of Ghc21.98 billion in 2015.

Speaking at a media soiree, Mr George Blankson, Commissioner General of GRA, said the Authority was hopeful it will meet the new target, explaining that the deployment of Total Revenue Integrated System (TRIPS) by the Domestic Tax Revenue Division would help boost revenue.

As part of this process, the Domestic Tax Revenue Division has deployed the Total Revenue Integrated System (TRIPS) in 12 offices.

TRIPS would link up with the Ghana Customs Management System to share information to enable the GRA monitor the activities of importers and put together their declared income with their volume of imports.

In 2014, the GRA collected a provisional total of Ghc17.07 billion, a three per cent level lower than the targeted Ghc17.61 billion.

Despite the fall, the GRA registered a growth rate of 29.7 per cent in revenue collection over that of 2013.

Mr Blankson said the fairly impressive performance was achieved on the back of the energy crisis which affected output, productivity, and profit levels of business enterprises.

Besides, he said, the fall in the prices of minerals on the global market led to lower incomes and profits, while staff lay-offs in the mining sector negatively affected income, royalty, and corporate tax payments.

He said the modernisation process, which begun in 2010 following the integration of the Agencies, would be pursued.

This would help improve administrative processes and procedures to ensure tax payer compliance.

Mr Blankson said in 2015, the GRA would adopt measures to ensure effective segmented compliance management strategies to facilitate taxpayer adherence to their tax obligations.

He said GRA would also monitor sectoral compliance behaviour to identify economic sectors manifesting high degrees of non-compliance, and implement the requisite measures to bring them to order.