Accra, Ghana//-The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has set a revenue target of GH¢60 billion for the year 2021 constituting 32.3% increase over the 2020 actual collection.
Its managers said that pragmatic and innovative measures were being put in place to enable them achieve the ambitious target.
“The Authority was challenged to collect a revised tax revenue target of GH¢42,769.50 in December, 2020 and collected GH¢45,338.69 million exceeding a budget of GH¢ 2,569.19 million”, the Ag. Commissioner-General of GRA, Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah told journalists in Accra.
He explained that the performance represents a nominal growth rate of 3.3% over the same period in the year 2019 as domestic revenue grew by a normal rate of 2.8% while customs collection grew also by 4.5% in the year 2020.
Giving a breakdown of the 2020 revenue collections, Rev Owusu-Amoah who disclosed this in an encounter with the media in Accra indicated that said the Authority set a target of GH¢22,153.64 billion and collected GH¢22.212.66 on direct taxes as GH¢10,583.37 was realized from a target of GH¢9,698.66 on indirect taxes while GH¢12.583.37 was collected as Customs at a target of GH¢ 10.917.20
The Ag. Commissioner-General said the successful performance of the Authority in 2020 was as a result of increased and targeted compliance exercises by blocking loopholes and the set-up of the Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Department as well as the introducing the Integrated Tax Application and Preparation System (ITaPS) and Ghana.Gov for online filling of Personal Income Tax for employees.
In addition, the rollout of the Integrated Custom Management System (ICUMS) in the year 2020 alsoscaled up in revenue collection of Customs and the increase operations in the mining, financial and telecommunication sectors with it’s corresponding increase in tax revenue and the enforcement exercises on defaulting tax payers leading to the collection of taxes owed.
On Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he said the Authority in collaboration with GIZ, a German firm provided Covid-19 testing facilities to needed institutions and two mobile vans to Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).
In the wake of the pandemic, GRA supported the Medical Reception Centre in Michel Camp with PPE’s and urged the citizenry to observe the necessary Covid-19 protocols as a measure to curb the spread of the disease.
The Authority made giant strides in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and its negative impact on businesses in the country.
Ben Laryea reporting from Accra, Ghana
