Revenue Authority honours retired workers
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has held an awards ceremony for 197 workers who retired from the authority in 2015. The workers, including of 35 women, had served the organisation in different capacities for period ranging from eight to 42 years.
They each received a memento, flat-screen television sets and a piece of wax print for their spouses.
Commendation
Speaking at a dinner and awards night held in honour of the retiring workers, the Commissioner General of GRA, Mr George Blankson, congratulated the retirees on their dedicated contributions to the commission over the years and said their efforts backed the growth of the authority and the country as a whole.
“This is because it is the revenue you helped mobilised, some for as long as over 40 years, that has kept the wheels of government running.”
He, therefore, urged the serving officers to resolve to be more committed in their duties by giving their best “so that you can be proud of your output when you retire.”
Mr Blankson noted that the year 2015 was an eventful one for the authority as it witnessed the takeover of the core functions of classification, valuation and risk management from the destination inspection companies.
He noted that even though the early stages of the project was challenging, “the challenges have been overcome and it is hoped that we will build on the successes attained so far to improve revenue mobilisation in the years ahead.”
Ghana’s tax rates
In his keynote address, a Tax Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Edward Larbi-Siaw, stated that the tax rates of Ghana compared to this of other African countries had shown that the Ghanaian rates were not as high as it was perceived.
He stated that income tax rate and the Value Added Tax (VAT) of Ghana were currently at 25 and 17.5 per cent respectively.
Citing the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and VAT of Niger, Dr Larbi-Siaw said they were 30 and 19 per cent respectively while those of Nigeria were at 30 and five per cent.
In Burkina Faso, he said, CIT was 28 per cent and VAT was 18 per cent, while in Togo it was 28 and 18 per cent, respectively with South Africa charging 28 per cent CIT and 14 per cent VAT.
Kenya, on the other hand, charges 30 and 16 per cent respectively, while in Cameroun CIT is 33 with VAT at 19.25.
CIT in Chad, he said, was 40 per cent and VAT was 18.6 per cent.
“We want low inflation, stable currency, lower interest rates, decreasing debt and overall stability in the economy. We must do all these with reasonable tax rates as demonstrated by the other African countries,” Mr Larbi-Siaw said.
Writer’s email: emelia.ennin@graphic.com.gh