Honour your taxes - Ghanaians urged

Bolgatanga, May 25, GNA - The Bolgatanga Municipal office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), collected about nine billion cedis out of an estimated target of 10 billion cedis for the year ending 2005. Mr Stephen Agbedor, Chief Inspector of Taxes for the Municipality, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga on Wednesday.

Out of about 11 billion cedis for 2006, about three billion cedis had been mobilised by the first quarter, he stated.

Mr Agbedor explained that it was mandatory for all Ghanaians both in the formal and informal sector to honour their tax obligations for national development, adding defaulters could face punitive measures including the seizure of property and three months imprisonment or more.

Mr Agbedor stated that the benefits that could be derived from the paying of taxes could not be overemphasised and said, "If all Ghanaians pay their taxes the country will be developed much better than it is now".

He urged religious leaders to educate their congregations on the need to pay taxes, saying, "The scripture indicates that give to Ceasar what is due Ceasar".

Mr Agbedor announced that the IRS would soon invoke punitive measures against tax evaders and appealed to the people to honour their tax obligations to avoid embarrassment.

He said that the Service was to embark on a programme dubbed "Creating Tax Awareness: A Necessary Tool for Voluntary compliance," for the informal sector in Bolgatanga to educate them on the need to pay their taxes