The Commissioner-General for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Authority, Amishaddai Owusu Amoah says he is confident of meeting the 2019 revenue target since they have collected more than 70% of the target set for this year.
According to Mr Amoah, they have put in place enough measures to ensure that they meet the GHC45 billion domestic revenue target set by the government by the close of the year.
If the GRA meets the revenue target for this year, this will be the first time the government has met its revenue target in three years. For the past three years, the government has struggled to meet its domestic revenue target. This has caused the government to cut down on planned expenditure such as spending on infrastructure and other key areas.
The last time the Ghana Revenue Authority met its domestic revenue target was in 2015 where it exceeded its target by more than GH¢600 million.
Measures put in place
Mr. Amoah was concerned about the tax infractions by companies, which prevented the country from getting the needed revenue for developmental purposes.
He said some companies had falsified VAT invoices and made misleading statements about their tax returns.
He revealed that four traders were in court for violating tax laws, urging the public to do well to honor their tax obligations.
He added that they have written to companies that owe the GRA as part of measures to retrieve the money.
The Authority, in September 2019, launched a task force dubbed: “Operation Collect, Name and Shame” to help collect the taxes that were overdue. The names of businesses that had not paid their taxes were published in the media to settle their debts.
“The operation was necessary because revenue performance was low and it was prudent to use all legitimate measures to shore it up,” he justified.
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