Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has called for a simpler and fairer tax system that encourages individuals and businesses to willingly fulfil their tax obligations.
She said taxpayers were more likely to comply when they understood the rules, received good service and trusted that public funds were being used responsibly.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang made the call in Accra at the 14th Annual International Tax Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation Ghana.
She said the government was reforming the tax system to reduce the burden on households and businesses while mobilising adequate revenue to support national development.
“People are more willing to comply when they believe that the system is fair,” she said.
The Vice President said the government had abolished some taxes that had become a burden on households and businesses and introduced major changes to the Value Added Tax (VAT) system through the Value Added Tax Act, 2025.
According to her, the reforms were being supported by increased use of technology and data to improve tax administration.
She said Ghana was also improving the taxation of cross-border transactions on digital platforms and introducing fiscal electronic devices to strengthen compliance.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang said the government was reviewing key tax laws to make them easier to comply with and ensure that they remained relevant to the changing economy.
She called on the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to improve taxpayer education, consultation and service delivery.
The Vice President said the informal sector must also be integrated into the tax system in a practical manner.
She urged tax professionals to help businesses and individuals understand their tax obligations and support the government in developing policies to improve compliance.
The Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, said the Authority was using technology to widen the tax net.
He said the GRA was linking its systems with those of the Office of the Registrar of Companies, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Passport Office.
The move, he said, would enable newly registered businesses to be automatically captured in the tax system.
Mr Sarpong said the GRA was also targeting the informal sector, which accounted for more than 70 per cent of employment in Ghana.
He said the GRA estimated that there were more than five million businesses in the sector.
To make tax payment easier, Mr Sarpong said the GRA had introduced a Modified Taxation App, which required basic information from taxpayers and calculated a three per cent tax on turnover for eligible businesses.
He said the VAT registration threshold had been increased from GH¢200,000 to GH¢750,000, a move he said would remove the burden of VAT registration and monthly filing from many small businesses.
Mr Sarpong said the GRA was also working with financial institutions to provide credit to businesses that could not afford to pay the taxes required to clear their goods at the ports.
According to him, some businesses kept their goods in warehouses for months because they lacked the funds to pay the taxes and clear them.
The credit arrangement, he said, would enable businesses to clear their goods, trade and repay the loans while the government received its revenue.
Mr Sarpong said the GRA was changing its approach to tax administration.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
