Government, GRA take steps to address tax non-compliance; launches IT Training Center – A Dep. Finance Minister

As government seeks to increase Ghana’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about 21% as attained in other jurisdictions from the current 14%, a major threat to this goal is tax noncompliance.  

This might not favour government’s tax system but in dealing with this threat requires a multifaceted approach in enhancing voluntary compliance.

Speaking at the commissioning of the IT Training Centre and opening ceremony for customer service and professional ethics training at Tema, a Deputy Finance minister, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng touched on education.

“One way we enhance taxpayer experience and improve voluntary compliance is this very education. When we’re equipped with the needed skills, then we can translate this into a good taxpayer experience enhancing service delivery”.

“Once the taxpayer is educated, feels respected, and can assess what their tax revenues are used for, voluntary compliance is enhanced,” he added.

He said compliance helps reduce costs on the part of both the Authority to enforce compliance and the cost of compliance on the side of the taxpayer.

“I have no doubt this will be achieved at the end of this training”.

Dr. Ampaabeng highlighted reforms made over the last few years in ensuring compliance such as the online filing for ghana.gov platforms, Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) among others.

He also made mention of the partnership with the World Bank and other partners as part of efforts in enhancing service delivery to improve taxpayer experience.

Dr. Alex Ampaabeng was optimistic the training will help push the country towards 21% of the tax to GDP in the next three years.

The deputy minister urged the frontline staff of GRA to value the training to better the relationship between the Authority and the taxpayer.

Representing the sector minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, he assured that the needs of GRA will be provided to equip staff in delivering their mandate.

Dr. Alex Ampaabeng emphasised the need to have this centre as a way of offering IT and training packages for the GRA training staff in the country’s quest to catch up with the rest of the world by being customer-centric in the area of tax.

The IT Training Centre project was started in 2021 by GRA in partnership with KfW which is a representative of the German government.

About 60 frontline staff from the Domestic Tax Revenue and Customs Division of GRA became the first batch to undergo a 3-day training in service excellence.

Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority, Julie Essiam shares how the vision of the Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam falls in line with that of the Authority.

“Last April, the minister in the first week of all the commissioners, leadership team and the board outlined his vision for changing the phase of the GRA which has fundamentally led us here today”.

She said prior to the minister’s appointment, GRA as part of its strategic plan had committed to ensuring excellent service delivery to taxpayers.

“The notion of customer-centricity has taken over tax authorities including the US. Where we find ourselves, they’ve all been there and evolved over time. We will surpass all the developed countries by the time we’re done with this training”.

Ms. Essiam stressed that the training is not just about imparting knowledge.

“ It’s about embedding a culture of excellence which will sound in every layer of GRA because the effectiveness of our tax system hinges on the trust and satisfaction of those we serve”.

She lauded the UK and German governments and local representatives and encouraged GRA staff to continue delivering on their mandate as reflects in the numbers.

The Commissioner-General did not leave out Deloitte Ghana which is serving as a resource partners.

“I have no doubt that this session you lead will lead to be very transformational. Your expertise and quality of facilitation you bring to the table are exactly what we need to achieve the outcomes we aspire to”.

She thanked the leadership and Support services division for enabling this vision.

Lead Advisor for the Ghana Revenue Programme by the UK Government in Ghana, Elorm Segbefia is happy with the partnership with GRA and finance ministry.

“The outcome of what we want to achieve for GRA is to become a customer-centric organization where they are able to use behavioral science, analytics to figure out what the customer wants that’s why we brought Deloitte on board”.

“We expect that when next we support GRA to do a customer survey, the results will be much better than we did this year and this will show the staff have adopted the new approach and improved on what they are doing. The survey should happen in the next 18 -24 months”.

Other partners including KfW and UNDP are excited for the milestone and believe a lot more could be achieved together in the journey ahead.