The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), George Blankson has called for a more comprehensive review of tax systems in order to make taxation more attractive on the continent.
He said tax systems must be fashioned in the context of financial and economic structures in order to minimise the distortions and risk in the systems. Mr Blankson made the recommendation during the 10th Regional Experts and 18th Directors General Conference of Customs Administration from West and Central Africa region held in Accra.
Speaking on theme, “Innovations in Customs: A Catalyst for Regional Capacity Building,” the Commissioner-General observed that taxation impacts every facet of the economy, stressing that experts in taxation were obliged to create and nurture tax systems that were cleaner, stronger, transparent and fairer.
“The attractiveness of the tax system that we create will depend on the tax policy environment and the administrative measures that are in place to actualize the policies.”
He said the focus of the customs function must expand beyond the traditional role of revenue collection to place more emphasis on trade facilitation, investment promotion and security.
“Confronting this challenge calls for a new customs: a new customs that will be more visible and proactive in protecting society and safeguarding national security,” he said.
Mr. Blankson also called for the establishment of appropriate regional structures on tax dialogue that will meet to address crucial issues impacting on the tax environment.
Bernard Zbinden, representative of the World Customs Organization, in a remark, urged delegates to understand their priorities in order to develop. He said the authority should understand policies and translate it into framework and tools that would be used by customs officers.
“I expect that we will consolidate recommendation made in previous conferences and make new recommendations that will propel the institution to the next level,” he noted.
