Amnesty For Tax Defaulters

According to the report of the committee, another motivation for the introduction of the bill was to free people from the fear of being made to pay interests and penalties on the amount of taxes owed, so that they could come forward to regularise their tax position with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Currently, the GRA has embarked on an electronic registration of taxpayers and, to make the registration meaningful, there is the need to grant amnesty to qualified people, so that such persons will voluntarily own up and be captured in the registration exercise.

“The committee thoroughly scrutinised the bill and found that its passage would help widen the income tax net and ensure the optimum collection of revenue by the GRA,” the report said.

After the bill had gone through its consideration stage, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Tekper, moved the motion for its third reading, after which it was pronounced passed by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho.

Speaking to newsmen after the passage of the bill, Mr Tekper said the government would ensure that the country’s tax net was widened in order to raise more money to finance development projects.

He indicated that after the bill had received presidential assent, it would be implemented in the next financial year.

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah