Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia
A Development Economist and Head of Research at the Danquah Institute, Dr. Frank Bannor, has lauded the proposal on tax reforms espoused by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice-President and NPP Flagbearer.
Speaking on Adom TV’s Badwam morning show, he stated that the proposals were what the country needed for its accelerated growth and development.
Dr. Bannor indicated that Ghana’s tax regime was too cumbersome, making it difficult for citizens to honour their tax obligations.
“If citizens know they’re likely to reap benefits from filing their tax returns, they’ll gladly do so. South Africa has shown the way; go to Johannesburg and see how happy citizens become while queuing to file their taxes,” he said.
“Our meetings with organized labour, including GUTA, the Ghana Pharmaceutical Association, the Ghana Medical Association, and others, have shown that the existing tax system is too cumbersome for them, leading to disputes and conflicts with the Ghana Revenue Authority,” Dr. Bannor stated.
Tax information
He emphasised that if business owners are not adequately informed about how much they owe in taxes based on earnings, this sometimes leads to GRA officials demanding more taxes than necessary, causing many businesses to suffer and evade tax payments.
“It is for this reason that Vice-President Bawumia, during his meeting with the leadership of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, pledged to overhaul the existing tax system. He plans to replace it with a flat-rated tax system, which is very flexible, and to grant tax amnesty to motivate citizens to file their taxes annually,” he said.
According to him, granting tax amnesty will give those who owe taxes an opportunity to be forgiven all or most of what they owe the state.
He explained that this move would increase revenues into the consolidated fund and expand the tax base.
Dr. Bannor believes that the tax measures of Dr. Bawumia, if implemented, will significantly contribute to maintaining a robust economic trajectory for the country.
