The President of the Republic of Ghana has revealed that, for the past years, the record of lawyers in paying taxes have been abysmal.

The President considers the situation as shameful because he expected lawyers who people trusted to comply with the laws, rather used their expertise to evade tax obligations.

“The record of lawyers in paying taxes has been historically poor. It is unfortunate, but the most unpleasant fact: the members of the professions in our country have not been known to set a good example when it comes to paying taxes.

“They appear to think that being members of the learned profession puts them above complying with everyday civic duties like paying taxes. It is embarrassing that lawyers are often at the top of the list of those who flout our tax laws and use their expertise to avoid paying taxes.”
President Akuffo-Addo

During his speech at the Ghana Bar Conference in Bolgatanga, President Akuffo-Addo disclosed that there are about 60,000 workers including lawyers, accountants, doctors, among others who are not registered by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

As a result, the President called on all the individuals involved to perform their respective tax obligations before the GRA commence actions to bring them out.

“The Ghana Revenue Authority has told a disturbing story about what it discovered earlier this year when it started working with the Registrar General’s Department and the National Identification Authority. It found that there are some 60,000 professionals working in the country who are totally outside the purview of the Tax Authority. These professionals are lawyers, they are accountants, they are doctors, they are engineers… and they do not pay taxes. They will soon be receiving friendly phone calls from the Tax Authority.

“I sincerely hope that those involved will move swiftly to regularize their tax affairs before the GRA moves to crack the whip.”
President Akuffo-Addo

The need to pay taxes

President Nana Akufo-Addo averred that Ghanaians have not cultivated a habit of paying taxes.

As a result, he indicated that Ghana’s “tax-to-GDP ratio of 14.3% compares unfavorably with her peers the world over. The average tax-to-GDP ratio in West Africa stands at 18%, and, indeed, the recommended ratio for ECOWAS Member States is at least 20%. The average for OECD countries is 34%.”

Therefore, the President stated that it is not surprising America, Germany, France, Japan and Britain amongst others, can readily provide the means to fund their own development, especially their infrastructural development. However, Ghana constantly struggles to do likewise.

“There is, therefore, an urgent need to enhance significantly our domestic revenue mobilisation capability to realise our development potential, create opportunities for our vibrant and dynamic youth, and deliver improved livelihoods for our fellow citizens.”
President Akuffo-Addo

Government effort towards tax compliance

Through a joint effort of GRA and the National Identification Authority (NIA), President Akuffo-Addo disclosed that, currently, Ghana has a taxable population of 15.5 million people.

Additionally, he revealed that “government has introduced other measures that make it easy for institutions and individual tax payers to be compliant. These include the implementing initiatives such as Revenue Assurance and Compliance Enforcement (RACE), Ghana.gov, paperless ports and National ID Ghana ID card, Digital Property and Address System and Cashless System.”

President Akuffo-Addo further advised the public to take advantage of these innovations and regularize their tax affairs.