House owners urged to pay Property Rate

Breman Essiam(C/R), Mar 21, GNA - A Revenue Superintendent of the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District Assembly, Mr. Andrews Aboagye, has urged house owners to pay property rate.

"All lands in the country are vested in the state even though they are entrusted in the care of chiefs and heads of families," Mr. Aboagye stated at Breman Essiam.

He was speaking at a forum organised by the District Directorate of the National Commission for Civil Education (NCCE) to launch a tax education campaign in the District.

"It is an offence for a house owner to refuse to pay property rate because he or she uses his or her own resources to put up the house," he stated.

The Revenue Superintendent explained further that the government paid compensation for lands acquired by the State because the livelihood of the people to whom the land had been vested depended on it.

He reminded house owners that part of the property rate they paid was used to support them when disaster struck.

Mr. Isaac Kofi Minnoo Quaye, Principal Inspector of Taxes at the Mankessim office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), took the audience through tax laws, incentives and relieves.

He pointed out that the three main obligations under the tax laws were registration, payment of taxes and filing of returns. Mr. Quaye said anyone in business; profession, vacation or trade was expected to register with IRS before the commencement of the venture.

"People who are already in business have to register to enable the IRS to know that they are still in business," he said adding that, "This must be dome as soon as the year begins".

He said the registration also afforded the taxpayer with the opportunity to discuss his or her tax profile for the past year and his or her expectation in the current year. Mr. Quaye advised taxpayers to inform the IRS within one month when they ceased operation.

Miss Georgina Yeboah, District Director of NCCE, said the nation could not develop at the space Ghanaians wanted if people in business refused to pay tax.

"No nation can develop without payment of taxes". Miss Yeboah stressed and stated that grants the nation received from foreign countries were from taxes paid by the citizens of the donor countries.

Nana Efua Essiwaa II Queen mother of Essiam commended the NCCE for launching the campaign and appealed to the government to support the Commission to sustain it.