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IRS, VAT MERGER TAKES OFF |
The merger between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Value
Added Tax (VAT) Service, which would lead to the formation of the Ghana
Revenue Authority (GRA), has taken off.
IRS and VAT would
therefore be renamed the GRA to create a single domestic tax
organization and to consolidate the management of direct and indirect
taxes in the country.
The Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS) would be retained as a second operational arm of GRA.
BUSINESS
GUIDE gathers that President Mills would appoint a Commissioner-General
before June this year to supervise the activities of the two
institutions.
Currently, a modern edifice to house the head
quarters of the GRA is ongoing at the Ridge enclave of Accra near the
ARB Bank head office.
Though the paper gathers that no staff would lose his or her job, but some of them are anxious because there could be demotion.
Sources told BUSINESS GUIDE that most of the staff would be re-assigned.
In January this year a sensitization programme was held for management staff of the revenue agencies to initiate the process.
According
to Samuel Sallas Mensah, out-going Executive Secretary of the Revenue
Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), the move is to reform and revitalize
the country’s public financial management system to improve the budget
and financial accounting processes.
Already, the government and
its development partners (World Bank and GTZ) have pledged $104 million
for the establishment and operation of the GRA.
The move,
according to the initiators, would change the environment of the three
revenue agencies. Indeed, the goal is to utilize technology
significantly, under the e-Government project to reduce costs and
enforce the law efficiently.
The GRA Act, 2009 (Act 791) received Presidential assent on December 31 2009.
The
Commissioner-General would preside over three subordinate commissioners
who would manage domestic tax, customs and support services.
Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa currently operate a tax reform
similar to that of the GRA. Integration, functional administration and
segmentation are essential to enhancing the revenue system in Ghana.
Source: Business Guide |
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