Domestic Tax Increases By 17%

The Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) mobilised taxes to the tune of almost GH¢8 billion through the deployment of the Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS), representing a 17 percent increase over the same period in 2016.

The collections were for the first half of this year.

In 2016, more than GH¢11 billion was also mobilised through TRIPS compared to almost GH¢9 billion and GH¢3 billion mobilised in 2015 and 2014.

Data shows that more than 154,000 tax returns were processed through TRIPS between January and July in 2017, representing a 43 percent increase in the same period in 2016.

From January to July 2017, over 151,000 new Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) have been issued, bringing the total to 890,000 since the launch of TRIPS.

TRIPS is an e-Tax software solution for tax administration under the e-Government project by the Ministry of Communications.

The first of its kind in West Africa, TRIPS was designed and deployed in 2011 as a business automation process system that seeks to streamline and bring transparency in the business operations of the Ghana Revenue Authority.

GeGov Project Manager at GCNet, Chris Holden, noted the system exchanges real time data with a number of other government systems, including the National Identification Authority, Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the online validation of Individual’s identity documents; Registrar-General’s Department for the automated creation and sharing of Tax Identification Numbers; Customs for the identification of Importers and Exports and also share data with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.

He was confident that with the expanded roll out of TRIPS across all offices of the Domestic Tax Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority nationwide, more individuals and entities will be roped into the tax net to enhance revenue mobilisation efforts to meet national development needs.

Currently, 38 offices of the Domestic Tax Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) nationwide use TRIPS, with an additional 21 offices to be incorporated.

The e-Tax solution package was developed and deployed for the Ghana Revenue Authority by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) with a self-service portal that provides online services to taxpayers.

It supports a full range of tax administration functions, including Registration, Returns Processing, Automated Compliance, Collections, Taxpayer Accounting, Revenue Accounting, Refunds, Risk Management, Case Management, Audit, Objections and Appeals.

Source: Daily Guide