Taxpayers in Ghana to hit 16 million by close of the year-Veep

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By
Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA

Accra, Feb. 10, GNA –
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says the introduction of various digital
initiatives by government will widen the tax net and increase the number of
taxpayers from about two million contributors to 16 million by the end of 2020.

In this vein,
government would soon convert all national identity numbers into tax
identification numbers to increase the number of people registered by the Ghana
Revenue Authority (GRA) to pay taxes in the country.

Dr Bawumia
reiterated government’s commitment to leveraging on technology to overcome many
of the country’s developmental challenges and formalise the economy, explaining
that, the national identification cards would help in verifying income sources
of individuals and capture them into the tax net.


For instance, he
said, the ID cards would help in establishing the identity of citizens while
the digital addressing system would establish the identity of properties, which
would create a rich and credible database, not only for effective public
administration but also benefit the private sector.

Vice President
Bawumia said in a keynote address in Accra on Monday when he officially
unveiled Absa Ghana Limited, marking a transition from Barclays Ghana Limited
after over 100 years of operation in Ghana.

The database, he
said, would be available to banks, rating agencies, revenue authorities, among
others, which would facilitate revenue mobilisation drive and inform
decision-making by both public and private institutions.

The event brought
together key stakeholders in the banking and financial sector, including the
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison and his two deputies and
captains of industry as well as customers and clients of Absa Ghana Limited.


Vice President
Bawumia commended Absa for supporting Ghana’s bid to host the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) Secretariat and believed that AfCTA
would facilitate continental free trade and build a prosperous Africa.

“I urge Absa to
continue to play a major role in Ghana’s development agenda solely anchored on
Ghanaian economy for over 100 years. We will continue to partner and
collaborate with you, and urge the Business Community to also do same. So
together, we can create a prosperous nation,” he assured.

Dr Bawumia announced
that the Bank of Ghana will next month launch the Universal QR Code, which
would make it possible for all retailers to receive payments on their mobile
phones without having the point-of-sale device and make Ghana the first African
nation to have the payment system.

For his part, Mr
Daniel Mminele, the Chief Executive Officer of Absa Group Limited, described
the unveiling of Absa in Ghana as a great milestone, which marks the first of
its regional operation in Africa.


He pledged the Bank’s
commitment towards supporting the transformation and economic growth of Ghana
and Africa in general.

The Bank will
continue its strategic initiatives to unlocking the economic potential of the
nation in areas of agriculture, energy and agribusiness, as well as small and
medium scale enterprises, to better the lots of the people, Mr Mminele assured.

GNA