Finding simpler ways to encourage the informal sector – Dr Bawumia at GRA

• The GRA was asked to design a modified tax system

• This aims to bring the informal sector into the tax base

• The informal sector contributes significantly to overall GDP growth

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia urged Ghana Revenue Authority officials to design and implement a modified taxation system for the large informal sector.

This, he believes, is necessary to enable the sector which contributes significantly to the overall growth of the country’s gross domestic product to easily meet its fiscal obligations.

During the launch of the Revenue Assurance, Compliance and Enforcement (RACE) initiative in Accra, Dr Bawumia urged for a much simplified tax enforcement and compliance regime targeting retail businesses and micro-small mediums.

“This group includes most of our women traders and artisans in the informal sector. This group of potential taxpayers is outside the scope of RACE, ”said Bawumia.

He continued: “For this group of citizens, the problem is not their tax evasion or their tax evasion. And their non-compliance may have more to do with their tax education and how assessment and collection is applied. Let’s find simpler ways to encourage tax compliance at this basic level.

The vice president, meanwhile, assured that the government will continue to create a very conducive environment to simplify tax assessment and reduce the cost of compliance for large taxpayers.

The RACE initiative aims to increase domestic revenue mobilization to a more financially dependent country and to play a monitoring role in the Ghana Revenue Authority’s taxpayer compliance efforts.