Tax expert with auditing firm KPMG, Kofi Frempong Kore, has urged micro-businesses to develop interest in filing their annual tax returns as a sure way of benefiting from government’s incentives.
According to him, filing annual returns does not imply paying money to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Speaking in an interview, he said forms filled by applicants indicates their expenses and revenues deducted to arrive at a deductible income and as such does not presuppose the payment of tax to GRA.
“If at the point that you are filing, there’s no tax to be paid, they don’t pay any tax. I think people should be clear in their mind that, the mere fact of filing your returns does not mean that you are going to pay tax. People even have a refund, people will file their return, and the return will show that the Ghana Revenue Authority or the government should pay them a refund, which they sometimes do pay”.
He explained that the refund is the credit an applicant account gets credited with, albeit there are instances where cheques are signed off for applicants.
“There are times you write and they sign a cheque for you, other times too they will say, ok you have a credit so we will use your credit against your future tax”.
Mr. Frempong-Kore addressed taxpayers concern on tax education and emphasized on the need for tax education. He admitted that there hasn’t been much done in that regard, however, he commended the government on their effort, urging for more input in educating taxpayers.
“We accept it in good faith. Probably, when we engage them we will tell them that look, people want to get more tax education”.
GRA advises taxpayers to file tax returns online
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on April 25, encouraged taxpayers to continue to file their tax returns online and make payments through the banks, in the wake of the pandemic.
GRA Commissioner General, Reverend Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, in an interview expressed his outfit’s resolve and commitment to fulfilling their core mandates.
“We will not relent in our efforts to deliver on our mandates. We will do all we can to ensure that the needed revenue is generated to meet government’s agenda as we all put our shoulders to the wheel to fight the pandemic,” he said.
He said the Authority would soon launch a digital platform that would allow taxpayers to access their Tax Identification Number from the comfort of their homes for easy business transactions.
He said the Authority supported President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s interventions to lessen the impact of the coronavirus on individuals and businesses.
According to the Commissioner General, all efforts would be made to facilitate payment of taxes during the COVID-19, but would not allow deliberate non-payment of taxes.
“We acknowledge the hard times in which we are as a nation and the world as a whole. We sympathize sincerely with those who have lost their jobs or sources of income.
“We also pray that as a nation, we will continue to support President Akufo-Addo and the government to ensure that the nation comes out of the situation quickly”, he said.
