Government to set up dedicated court to crack down on tax evaders

Government says it will from next year introduce a number of measures aimed at increasing the country’s revenue mobilization, including the establishment of special tax court to crack down on tax evaders.

It will also set up what the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta termed as VAT attack, as well as use drones for border controls.

Speaking at the 2019 post-budget workshop in Koforidua Monday, the finance minister observed among other things that people understate their assets to evade tax, but noted such people will soon have the special tax court to contend with.

“We’re also going to negotiate with the Chief Justice for a Tax court,” he revealed.

He explained government has found that people own buildings at places like East Legon and Cantonments yet those properties do not reflect in their taxes.

Government, he said will now move in on those persons for them to justify how they were acquired, saying “we are now going to just zoom in on those properties and then you will prove to us how you were able to acquire them”.

Mr. Ofori-Atta who was on the floor of parliament last week Thursday to present the 2019 budget and fiscal policy, also mentioned that the government will keep the borders of Ghana under surveillance using drones to check smuggling.

“We are also going to have a border control team with drones, etc so that we can monitor some smuggling which is going on”, he said.

He hinted that a special taskforce has already being trained to take charge of audits in 2019.

Mr. Ofori-Atta noted the 10,000 young men and women who have been placed under the Revenue Ghana module of the Nations Builders Corps (NABCO) programme will be very resourceful to revenue mobilization in 2019.

He said for instance that the NABCO employees will be used to clamp down on “gorro boys” at the Drivers and Licensing Authority to help seal leakages in revenue.