The Government of Ghana has announced plans to tax the foreign incomes of resident Ghanaians.
The decision comes after the withdrawal of the electricity value-added tax (VAT) resulted in a revenue shortfall of approximately GHc 1.8 billion.
Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam assured citizens of the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation.
Acknowledging the challenges, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) emphasized the importance of taxpayer cooperation in implementing the new measure.
The GRA boss highlighted a voluntary disclosure aspect allowing taxpayers to waive interest on their accounts if they disclose their income within three months.
“Its implementation has begun because the team is mobilizing themselves and drafting the letters to be sent to individual account holders. So by the 2nd of May, those letters might have gone out. If individuals come forward within three months and say that, this is the amount in this account, the interest on the account will be waived and that is the voluntary disclosure aspect of this measure”.
With the government mobilizing efforts to enforce the tax, Dr. Adam urges patience from citizens as they work to revive the economy in line with the IMF agreement.
