The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has unveiled a digital platform to enhance revenue mobilization in Ghana.
Dubbed: ‘Open Tax Ghana Platform,’ the digital portal is partnership between ACEP, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID).
The platform, which can be accessed via www.opentaxghana.com, provides opportunity for the masses to share tax information, report on suspected tax evasions, among others.
Speaking at the launch of the portal on Friday, November 3, 2017, in Accra, Executive Director of ACEP, Benjamin Boakye, said the platform seeks to deepen the conversation around tax mobilization and the need for citizens to pay their taxes.
Many Ghanaians look up to government without realizing that each and every citizen ought to contribute their quota to enable government provide what the masses want, according to him.
He said the masses were demanding more than they were contributing towards national development.
Mr Boakye stressed the need to create awareness among the citizenry that the amenities they seek such as hospitals, schools, good roads can only be constructed if they also pay taxes.
He disclosed that a lot of people were deliberately evading tax in Ghana, saying in 2016 alone, a total of GH¢850 million was lost to the state in the downstream petroleum sector due to tax evasion.
A Senior Revenue Officer from the Communication and Public Affairs Department of GRA, Anita Naadu Anaba-Ania, in a remark, stressed the need for more partnerships among stakeholders to help increase revenue mobilization.
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