The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced plans to introduce a new tax initiative designed to ease the burden of tax filing for micro and small enterprises across the country.
The move, expected to be implemented under the Modified Taxation Programme, is part of efforts to broaden the tax net and plug revenue leakages.
Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, disclosed the upcoming rollout during a stakeholder engagement with executives and selected members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) in Accra.
“For GRA, as tax administrators, we mobilise revenue for national development; therefore, we see businesses as one of the core partners that we deliver on our mandate,” he noted.
Mr. Sarpong emphasized the importance of supporting businesses to enable them to grow and generate the profits necessary to contribute to the national purse. “If businesses grow and thrive and are supported, we believe that they will make the necessary profit and we can also collect our taxes. So in this respect, GUTA is a big stakeholder in our partnership, hence the need to meet some of the executives to explain to them some of the tax measures,” he added.
The initiative will allow micro enterprises to register and submit tax filings through a flexible and user-friendly process, enhancing compliance without overburdening small-scale operators.
Speaking on the outcome of the engagement, Mr. Sarpong said, “The engagement has been very fruitful after we had the opportunity to explain to them some challenges faced in their tax filing process. We have agreed that we shall have a quarterly engagement with them so we can speak on some of their concerns.”
He further explained that the authority aims to create a more responsive and accessible system for taxpayers. “We will soon be launching the modify taxation programme that allows us to register several small, micro and individual businesses and work with them to pay their taxes in a more convenient and simplified manner. So today was the first engagement with them. We shall move to the market to meet with the actual operators to explain to them so that it becomes easy when we launch it,” he said.
GUTA President Joseph Obeng welcomed the initiative, expressing optimism that regular dialogue between traders and tax authorities would boost trust and encourage better tax compliance. Mr. Sarpong also assured that concerns raised would be forwarded to the Finance Minister for consideration.
