An online portal to enable non-resident digital service providers to pay taxes has been launched in Accra.
The Non-Resident E-Commerce/Digital Service(s) Registration Portal is the latest initiative of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure all businesses operating in Ghana comply with their tax obligations.
Launching it yesterday, Commissioner-General of the GRA, Reverend Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said the Authority was targeting to collect GH¢1.7 billion worth of tax for the first year of implementation of the portal.
The move, he stated, formed part of the digitalisation agenda being pursued by the Authority to promote voluntary tax compliance.
He said the portal was developed with a compliant tool that made it easier for businesses to pay taxes.
“We have an arrangement with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to block payment to goods and service providers if they fail to comply with their tax obligations,” he added.
The Commissioner-General said the percentage of taxes to be paid would be in line with the current Value Added Tax rate.
He explained that the portal, which would first allow online businesses to register before paying the expected taxes, would enhance revenue generation and VAT payment.
Penetration of VAT payment, Rev.DrOwusu-Amoah noted, was very low and worrisome considering the number of businesses which were operating in the digital space.
He stated that the GRA was poised to change the trend with the introduction of the portal.
He said all e-commerce businesses were expected to register and synchronise their system with the portal within March before implementation of the portal commences on April 1.
The implementation of the portal, he explained, would contribute significantly toward the realisation of the 2022 revenue target and bridge the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio.
Colin Sykes, Head of Trade and Economic Reform, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said the platform was to strategically positioned GRA to collect taxes from non-resident digital service providers.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS