The Ghana Revenue Authority has successfully collected approximately GH¢440 million from businesses since the implementation of taxes on e-commerce services in the latter part of 2022.
A total of 110 businesses have signed up for the GRA’s tax payment portal, as confirmed by the organisation’s commissioner general, Rev. Dr. Ammisshadai Owusu Amoah. He disclosed this information to Joy Business after delivering a speech at the 11th Annual International Tax Conference in Accra.
Given Ghana’s relatively low tax collection rates compared to other countries, the topic of this year’s tax conference, “Taxation and Economic Development: A Review of Ghana’s Tax Policies,” was selected. The Commissioner General claims that the tax ratio has skyrocketed in recent months as an unprecedented number of businesses have been registered.
“We have established an online portal, which many online businesses have registered, and I’m sure some of you have come across getting VAT whenever you do a Google transaction. And I must mention that in the last six months, we have collected about GH¢440 million from some of these e-commerce platforms”.
“Now these platforms work through payment providers in Ghana, which are also required to register with the Central Bank and given some additional requirements that must be met before being able to carry out their businesses,” he stated.
Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osarfo Marfo, recently made an appeal to the Institute of Taxation Ghana on behalf of the president of Ghana, asking them to collaborate with the Ghana Education Service to develop tax education policies.
“Let us end this conference with some recommendations, and I want to appeal to the Institute of Taxation Ghana to forge a relationship with the Ministry of Education to come up with some teachings on taxation, from the basic level where everyone will feel the patriotism to pay taxes without being asked to do so.”
The President of the Institute, George Ohene Kwatia, emphasised the importance of members improving their knowledge of the nation’s tax laws and promoting the practice of voluntary tax payment.
