We don’t harass businesses for taxes – GRA dispels Bawumia’s claim
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has refuted claims by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that businesses are being harassed for taxes.
On Wednesday, March 20, Dr. Bawumia, at a meeting with members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce, questioned the GRA’s approach to collecting tax from businesses.
He said the GRA has been harassing businesses under the guise of tax collection to make up for targets set by them.
He was of the view that officials at GRA are pressuring businesses because the authority is setting unrealistic targets for its officers.
However, speaking in a media interview, the GRA Assistant Commissioner, Emelia Assam, rebuffed those claims, stating unequivocally that the GRA does not engage in harassing businesses for taxes.
“There is no harassment with tax collection; GRA staff don’t go out to harass,” she emphasised. “No tax officer who has been authorized to go out is expected to harass any client. In the sense that we have some compliance issues that we deal with every day. Every taxpayer must register; if you fail to register, we can send you a notification to appear.
“We can lock up your place if you fail to respond to these notifications. We have duties to issue invoices for people who are registered to pay VAT,” she said in an interview with Citi FM.
Early on, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) condemned what they claimed was “harassment of its members” by officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
In a press conference held in Accra on October 3, 2023, the President of the Association, Dr. Joseph Obeng, claimed that the GRA has established a task force to intercept goods and cargo after they are cleared, and this has become unbearable.
He said cargoes bound for the Ashanti region are mostly affected by this activity.
According to the GUTA President, this was unprofessional and a bad image for the customs systems deployed at the country’s ports.
He believes the act goes a long way toward derailing trade facilitation.
He said, “GRA cannot assign any cogent reason for the harassment of the traders in the Ashanti region.”
GUTA vowed never to tolerate the interception of cargoes after they had left the port and pledged to fight other activities that frustrate the business climate in Ghana.