Taxpayers urged to honour obligations to state
The Asokwa Medium Taxpayers Office (MTO) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has organised a one-day sensitisation workshop for business owners in the Kumasi metropolis on tax exemptions.
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The workshop sought to engage taxpayers on the need to honour their tax obligations and contribute their quota to help in the building of a resilient Ghanaian economy.
The seminar, which is organised annually for taxpayers, attracted over 300 participants within the metropolis.
At the event, the Head of the Asokwa Medium Taxpayers Office, Mr Samuel Sekyi Duodo, said in order for the finances of a country to be substantial, there was the need for the populace to pay their taxes and also pay on time to enable the government to spearhead its developmental agenda.
He said the obligation of the GRA was not only to take taxes but more importantly, interact with the public in order to understand why they were obliged to pay taxes.
Highlighting on the recent three per cent tax increment, Mr Duodo said the purpose of the increment was to create an easy comprehension of the tax system by taxpayers.
Mr Duodo assured taxpayers that the government would continue to create an enabling environment and equal opportunities for all traders.
He, however, tasked the participants to go and share the experiences they had gained at the workshop with their family and friends, adding “together Ghana would be a good country for all.”
Concerns
Expressing their concerns, a businessman, Mr Mark Bennet, who deals in building materials, urged government not to operate a system to encourage some traders to evade taxes at the detriment of well-meaning Ghanaians who honoured their taxes.
He recounted situations where traders could sell their wares at low prices to the disadvantage of the system, urging government to give equal opportunities to traders.
Majority of the participants appealed to the government to reduce taxes, saying “high taxes make business unprofitable”.