Businesswoman granted bail for failing to pay tax

A Kumasi Circuit Court has granted a bail sum of GH¢ 20,000.00 with one surety to be justified to a businesswoman for failing to pay tax.

Doris Aboraah, 50, and a spare parts dealer, was bailed on condition that she reports every Friday to the investigator of the case.

Aboraah alias Afua Abrefi pleaded not guilty to the charges of failure to pay tax, impeding tax administration and causing damage to the properties of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

She is to reappear before the court, presided over by Mrs Afua Adu Amankwaah, on Monday, December 07, 2015.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Akowuah, told the court that the complainant, Henry Branford Sam, is a tax administrator of GRA, Accra.

Chief Inspector Akowuah said, on September 16, 2015, a tax mobilization task force of the GRA led by Sam, closed down the shop of Aboraah for owing the state GH¢ 155,627.54 from 2001 to 2015.

Aboraah forcibly broke the padlocks to her shop and removed the Commissioner’s General’s tape surrounding her shop and continued with her trading activities.

On October 21, 2015 at about 1140hours, Sam in the company of the Task force mobilization team and two policemen went to Aboraah’s shop to close it again, but she prevented them and insisted they collected Woyome’s debt which he owed the country, before she would settle hers.

Aboraah was arrested and sent to the Regional Criminal Investigative Department (CID) office for investigations.

She denied the offence in her cautioned statement and was charged after investigations.