Government raises GHC249.7 million from new levies introduced in 2021 Budget

The implementation of the new revenue measures introduced in 2021 Budget has so far yielded a total of GHC249.7 million compared to the target of GHC358.1 million, Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance has said.

The government in the 2021 Budget introduced the pollution and sanitation Levy, delta fund levy, COVID-19 health levy, and Finsec clean-up levy.

The implementation of these new levies commenced in May 2021.

“… Although the performance of these new revenue initiatives is also below their respective targets, the gradual pickup in economic activity, complemented by other strategies being deployed by the Ghana Revenue Authority, will ensure that programmed revenue targets will materialise by the year-end.

“Mr. Speaker, grants disbursements amounted to GHC448 million against a target of GHC869 million, falling below the target by 48.5%. The inflows were exclusively from Project Grants, as no Programme Grants are expected this fiscal year.”

Revenue mobilisation

He said the government is aware of the critical importance of additional revenue to implement the recovery and transformation agenda.

“We are therefore transforming the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to drive our quest for burden-sharing and sustainable revenue mobilisation.”

Ofori-Atta said this transformation agenda is not just about mobilizing more, it is equally about mobilizing sustainably with the help of technology.

He said the government is building robust and integrated data systems under Ghana CARES to advance this cause.

“Mr. Speaker, we have also established the Revenue Assurance and Compliance Enforcement (RACE) Initiative to complement the efforts of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The remit of RACE is to identify and prevent revenue leakages while reinforcing the culture of compliance nationwide”

The minister said the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will fully activate the prosecution unit to bring in line recalcitrant taxpayers and other persons who will infringe the revenue laws in order to drive compliance and reduce tax evasion and tax fraud.

“Mr. Speaker, the establishment of the tax courts this year will ensure the speedy trial of tax cases and the necessary punitive measures handed out where necessary.

“The operationalization of the Independent Tax Appeals Board on the other hand will afford taxpayers the opportunity for redress where taxpayers are not satisfied with the actions of the revenue authority. Government objective is not to hound taxpayers, but rather to ensure that, we all pay our fair share of taxes,” he added.

Source : asaaseradio