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The Ghana Revenue Authority will from Monday, September 23 embark on a tax compliance exercise to clamp down on corporate institutions and individuals that reneged on their tax obligations.
The exercise is to be carried out in Accra by the authority’s revenue mobilisation taskforce, enabling them to collect taxes that were overdue while ensuring compliance by businesses to shore-up revenue.
Mr. Ken Tweneboah Koduah, Coordinator of the taskforce, said this at a briefing on Wednesday after the taskforce embarked on a similar exercise to identify and remind tax defaulters.
This, he said, was to enable the institution to check whether such businesses were operating within the confines of the authority’s laws.
This included identifying corporate organisations that were issuing different VAT invoices other than Commissioner General’s; to check the compliance-level of businesses to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE); and filing of their VAT returns among others.
Mr. Tweneboah Koduah said the authority is hoping to accrue GH¢2300million in Customer Revenue as well as to collect GH¢1300million in Domestic Tax Revenue generation through the exercise.
“Today’s exercise was a mild one, just to acquaint ourselves with the actual issues on the ground. The enforcement, however, will start next week; and businesses and individuals who have defaulted in paying their taxes will be forced to pay.”
He said the taskforce will soon go after Ministries, Departments and Agencies who are withholding taxes paid by Contractors, suppliers and consultants that were supposed to be repaid to the authority.
“We will later go after the Ministries, Departments and Agencies who are withholding taxes collected from contractors, suppliers and consultants which are supposed to be paid to GRA, but have not been paid. Those monies belong to the GRA and are supposed to be paid on behalf those people,” he said.
Touching on the day’s exercise, the taskforce identified businesses which were operating without proper registration documents from the GRA; issuance of invoices not generated by the Commissioner General; while others could not produce any of the required documents due to absence of their accountant.
The taskforce, dubbed ‘Operation Collect, Name and Shame’, was inaugurated on September 5 this year and tasked to collect taxes that are overdue and publish in the media names of businesses that are proving recalcitrant in settling their tax debt.
The exercise is expected to continue on Thursday and Friday.
