Government appoints new team to head tax administration

Economic News from Sunday, June 2, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-06-02

The Ministry of Finance announced the appointment of three people to the Ghana Tax Administration Directorate.

Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Acting Commissioner of the National Revenue Division, Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), Acting Commissioner of the Customs Division and Ms. Julie Essiam, Acting Commissioner Support Services.

It is expected that they will lead a number of critical transformational changes to the Authority, according to a statement issued by the Public Relations Department on Sunday, June 2.

The new officers will replace Kwesi Gyimah Asante, Commissioner of the National Tax Revenue Division; Isaac Crentsil, Commissioner of the Customs Division and Fred Charles Anson, Commissioner of the Support Services Division, all of whom were rebadigned to the Department of Finance.

You will find below the complete statement of the tax administrator:

June 2, 2019

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE: GRA MANAGEMENT AND STAFF CHANGES

Accra, Sunday, June 2, 2019 … In line with ongoing government reforms to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to improve performance, in line with the 2019 budget (paragraph 288), there have been changes in the leadership of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). 39; institution. In addition, approximately one thousand four hundred eighteen (1,418) employees are transferred to other areas of the organization. Further changes will be made to allow GRA to re-equip the crucial task of raising revenue to fund improvements in the lives of our people.

The reorganization was made necessary by three (3) main factors:
Firstly, the institution has grown considerably over the years and its current revenues of about 38 billion GH ¢ make it one of the largest institutions in Ghana. This created the need for much stronger and world-clbad structures.
Second, the number of GRA employees has increased dramatically to around 7,000 and another 5,000 have been added through NABCO to strengthen the authority's capacity for revenue mobilization, bringing the number total employees at 12,000. GRA is now one of the largest employers outside the public service.
Third, there is a growing need to improve domestic revenue mobilization to deliver the Beyond Aid Agenda in Ghana. With Ghana
With GDP at 12.6%, which is below the average of 19.9% ​​for West Africa, it is therefore necessary to increase domestic revenue more efficiently in order to meet commitments taken by the country. GRA's revenues have not reached budget targets and, over the last three years, a cumulative deficit of approximately 3.5 billion ¢.

Given all the above factors, it has become necessary to make changes to the management and organizational structure to make it a much more efficient institution.

These changes should bring several improvements to the institution. This involves using best practices from the private sector and combining them with the technical expertise of the public sector to ensure that the GRA is a better institution. In addition, these changes should improve the overall level of professionalism and engender a customer-friendly spirit at GRA.

As expected, the new team will have to make a number of critical transformational changes:

Modernize and digitize tax processes and systems;

Introduction of large data technologies and blockchains to improve compliance;

Broaden the tax base to more effectively encompbad the informal sector and occupational categories (currently there are over 6 million eligible taxpayers, but only about 2.5 million have been registered and only about 1.2 million are active direct taxpayers); and

Develop a stronger culture of performance and accountability

Strengthen staff integrity and anti-corruption measures;

Improve the quality of services provided to taxpayers;

Respect the client (taxpayer)

Create a fair and firm tax organization that ensures fair treatment for every taxpayer

S & P to tackle revenue losses in both national taxes and customs;

Ensure that best practices are shared to create a world-clbad organization.

To bring this transformation to a successful conclusion, changes have been made at various levels throughout the organization, involving approximately 1448 employees transferred to other areas of the organization. At the management level, the following new appointments have been made:

Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah Acting Commissioner of the National Tax Revenue Division

Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), Acting Commissioner, Customs Division

Ms. Julie Essiam, Acting Commissioner, Support Services Division

We take this opportunity to thank the current GRA management team that has brought GRA so far. We wish the Commissioner General and his new team success in continuing the work of GRA. END

ISSUED BY

PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

MINISTRY OF FINANCE