Taxation rehash needed in Ghana

For Ghana to close the gap between cash resources and funding needs for services and infrastructure, there is the need for a total rehash of the taxation system, Participants at a sensitisation tax justice workshop say.

They said the rehash would recover taxes seeping through bad structural deals with multinationals and ensuring that all other taxes are collected.

This was the consensus at a two-day workshop held in Ho under the auspices of ActionAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation.

The Tax Justice Movement is seeking to reverse trends in taxation that allows the rich room to manipulate to pay less taxes while the poor are trapped to pay high taxes.

Madam Queronica Quartey, Policy and Campaigns Manager of ActionAid-Ghana said while it is true that taxation is crucial to national development, equity must streak all revenue generation systems.

She said there is need for a strong civil society coalition to nudge policymakers to critically assess taxation policies with the interest of all segments of society in mind.

Madam Quartey said there is a correlation between low tax revenue and low fiscal support for education, health, social welfare, among other services.

Mr Emmanuel Budu-Addo, Head of Finance- ActionAid- said there is the need for the country to take another look at the tax dispensation intended to promote direct investments into Ghana, as there are too many company tax-leak conduits out of the country for that matter, Africa.

He mentioned under and over-invoicing, manipulation of profits to avoid taxation and misuse of tax haven as some of the methods used by companies to dodge taxes.

Mr Budu-Addo said it is important that the tax net is moved from around 18 per cent of GDP to 25 percent.

The Interim Executive for the Volta Regional Tax Justice Coalition was selected with Kobla Ali Kukubor, as Chairman to mobilise public support, through various means for tax justice.