Tax Expert at OXFAM Dr. Alex Ampaabeng has stated that political interference is rendering the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) less effective in the discharge of its mandate.
According to him, the rampant political intrusion into the administration and operation of very sensitive state institutions such as the Ghana Revenue Authority is costing the country a lot. Dr. Ampaabeng further called for the appointment of the head of GRA to be done by the staff of the authority instead of the president making such appointment.
“The political games we are playing are costing the country a lot. I look forward to a time when the president will not be the one to appoint the commissioner of the GRA so that the workers themselves will elect one of them to be the leader. This is my wish” he stated in an interview on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on Wednesday 12 October, 2022.
Dr. Alex Ampaabeng was reacting to the allegations by the National Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye that the GRA is deliberately burdening business owners in the Ashanti Region with nuisance taxes.
Shop owners in the central business district of Kumasi have closed down their shops since Monday 10 October, 2022 as a registration of their displeasure over what they consider as harsh taxes by the GRA and the depreciation of the Cedi which is adversely affecting their business.
The tax expert also opined that some of the taxes that could give the country revenue are not effectively collected because there are some powerful and influential people who are enjoying the benefits of the lapses in the tax regime in Ghana.
“For example, the property fund is not collected because the big men themselves own the properties. If we put our house in order, we will be able to generate the money we look elsewhere for” Dr. Ampaabeng emphasised.
By Samuel Afriyie Owusu|3news.com|Ghana