With the aim to help reduce the uncertainty, expense and delay associated with a general resort to litigation on tax matters, the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, has sworn in members of the first-ever Independent Tax Appeal Board (ITAB) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)
The inaugurated member board was established into office in compliance with the Revenue Administration Amendment Act, 2020 (Act 1029), with a charge to build a strong tax dispute resolution system to support revenue mobilization, and to ensure that justice is done in the administration of taxes in the country.
The 11-member board is chaired by Justice Lawrence Mensah, a retired Court of Appeal Judge, with members including the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Nii Ayi Aryeetey, a retired Deputy Commissioner in charge of Special Duties at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Customs Division, Peter Kwame Abebrese, a retired Justice of the High Court, Justice Kwabena Asumanadu, and the Managing Partner, Tax and Legal Affairs at advisory firm, WTS Nobisfields, Theophilus Tawiah.
The rest are a retired Chartered Accountant, Emmanuel Obeng Asiedu, the Administrator of the Diaspora Affairs Department at the Office of the President, Fauziah Ibrahim, a lawyer and former Director of the Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Finance, Mangowa Ghanney; a retired Assistant Commissioner and Head of the Transport Unit at the GRA, Samuel Narh Ojangmah, the Managing Partner of ikern Associates Limited and ikern Chartered Accountancy, Isaac Nyame, and a Senior Manager for Banking Operations of Bond Savings and Loans Company PLC, Catherine Quaidoo.
Need For ITAB
Speaking with optimism, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta disclosed that the establishment of the ITAB would provide a cost effective means of resolving tax disputes for both the GRA and the taxpayers.
He further noted that the initiative will also relieve the Ministry of duties in relation to mediating disputes between the GRA and taxpayers.
“We need to establish that discipline, trust and that authority GRA must have. The ITAB would help to improve Ghana’s tax-to-GDP rate of 13 per cent, which is one if the lowest in the sub-region, despite the concerted efforts of the tax authorities.”
Mr. Ken Ofori Atta
The Minister urged the board to provide a fair and independent forum for dispute resolution, make decisions based on the evidence presented, provide guidance and precedence for similar cases as well as ensuring compliance with the tax law by providing clarity in the interpretation of tax legislation.
According to the finance mister, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which serves as the foremost legislative framework that governs various disputes within the country were accepted as a speedy and more cost effective approach to resolving disputes especially with those of tax.
Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta was confident that an ADR mechanism would boost investor confidence and reduce time spent litigating for both taxpayers and the Tax Administrators.
He commended the GRA for exceeding its revenue target for 2022 by over GH¢3 billion but called for more effort to enable the country reach the revenue generation levels of the OECD countries, whose tax levels are almost triple that of Ghana.
Chairman of the Independent Tax Appeal Board, Justice Lawrence Mensah, a retired Appeals Court Judge disclosed that the goal of any dispute settlement body such as the ITAB is to ensure access to justice.
According to the Chairman, the ITAB would focus on providing an efficient and effective forum for speedily resolving disputes that could create threats for market players and as well distort government’s income generation projections to the extent of affecting the GRA. “The ITAB would operate with integrity in all facets of its works,” he added.
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