Chief Revenue Officer of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Richard Hakeem Quainoo has said although the informal sector constitutes 70 per cent of the business sector, only 2% out of the figure honour their tax obligations to the state.
He was speaking at a Sensitisation Programme in Accra organized by SEND Ghana for informal business groups on National Tax Policies and ways of Ensuring Compliance. Richard Hakeem Quainoo appealed for the cooperation of Ghanaians in getting tax defaulters to settle their outstanding liabilities, increasing voluntary compliance of payments, and in the filing of tax returns.
He urged those operating in the informal sector to register for their Tax Identification Number (TIN) because without that, they could not transact business with the Registrar General’s Department, Passport Office, the courts, among other institutions.
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Mr. Quainoo disclosed, of the expected 6 million taxpayers, only 1.5 million paid their taxes with 200,000 being from the informal sector. He added at the meeting that folks should take advantage of tax incentives offered by the government under the General Tax Relief Policy.
The Chief Revenue Officer stated Government had given temporary concessions to individuals who would venture into agriculture to encourage the youth into it and to provide job opportunities.
Individuals engaged in family tree crops get a 10 year-tax holiday as do cattle rearers, while those in cash crops get 5 years.
The Disability Act, 2006 (ACT 715) also enjoins government to give annual tax rebates on the taxable incomes of Persons with
