VAT Service tracks down tax defaulters

Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - More than 10 billion cedis has so far been retrieved by the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service from defaulters, mostly companies, in parts of the country, a senior official of the VAT Service said on Thursday.

The defaulting companies are in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western and Eastern regions, some of which were closed down. Briefing the Ghana News Agency in Accra as the VAT Service continued its nationwide exercise to track down defaulters, Mr Henry Sam, Head of the Enforcement and Debt Management Unit, said the exercise was to ensure that tax defaulters paid up.

"It is not our intention to close down businesses because companies and the VAT Service are partners in tax collection," he said, adding that the closure of companies was the last resort after they failed to heed persistent notices to pay up.

Mr Sam said since the inception of the VAT Service, there had always been a roll-over of accumulated debts from registered companies which, by law, have been submitting voluntary declarations of their income before payments.

He said those who defaulted in payment of taxes deprived government of money for development and appealed to individuals and companies to do the right thing by declaring the right income and pay their taxes promptly.