Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, GRA Acting Commissioner-General
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it exceeded its 2020 revenue target in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on businesses.
The Authority had been tasked to collect a revised tax revenue target of GHC42, 769.50 million, as at December 2020, but the revenue generated was GHC45,338.69 million, exceeding the revised budget by GHC2,569.19 million thus, with a positive deviation of 6.0 per cent.
This performance represents a nominal growth rate of 3.3 per cent over the same period in 2019. In 2020, domestic revenue grew by a nominal rate of 2.8 per cent while Customs collection grew by 4.5 percent.
Giving a breakdown of its success at a press soiree, the Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said with direct taxes, even though the target was GHC22,153.64 billion, it collected GHC22, 212.66 billion.
On indirect taxes, he said his outfit generated GHC10,583.37 from an initial target of GHC9,698.66 while the Customs Division raked in GHC12,583.37 from its original aim GHC10,917.20.
The Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS) also contributed significantly to the improved performance of Customs. Total revenue generated from March 1, 2020 to January 9, 2021 through the system was GHC11,651,635,820.46.
Rev Owusu-Amoah attributed the success to certain initiatives undertaken by the Authority, namely increased and targeted compliance exercises, Integrated Tax Application and Preparation System (ITaPS) & Ghana.Gov, ICUMS, increased operations in the mining, financial & telecommunication sectors, enforcement exercises as well as through corporate social responsibility.
2021 revenue target
Mr Owusu-Amoah further said that for 2021, while awaiting the Finance Ministry to come out with the budget for the year, the Authority has set for itself an aggressive target to collect a provisional tax revenue of GHC60 billion, constituting a 32.3 per cent increase over the 2020 actual collection.
“This task I must admit, appears quite daunting at first sight, but this will not deter us as an organisation. With hard work, a right attitude and innovative measures, we can achieve the target,” he pointed out.
He told journalists that in order to achieve this gain, the GRA intends introducing new excise tax stamps, TIN/Ghana card replacement, E-commerce, restructuring of domestic tax revenue division, prosecution among other measures.
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