Tomato Sellers Honour Tax Obligations

The Secretary of the Greater Accra Tomato Traders Association (GATTA), Miss Lydia Afoley Anum, has stressed the need for every trader to attach importance to tax paying, to enable government get more revenue for development. She said it was the only means by which government could raise adequate revenue to undertake development projects and other social activities.

Miss Anum made this remarks when GATTA invited officers of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to the Makola Market, to collect taxes from the tomato sellers and other traders, as part of their social obligation, on Monday. She said GATTA was prepared to provide all the necessary support to enable IRS achieve its set objectives, and gave the assurance that the Association would do its best to reach all its 30 branches in the Greater Accra Region, to make members understand the need to pay tax.

Miss Anum also appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to help control the trading activities of some tomato sellers in the various markets, to protect the larger section of GATTA members, who are abiding by the scheduled day system in line with a mechanism endorsed by the Ministry of Trade. She explained that the mechanism is a system designed by GATTA for the conduct of tomato trade nationwide, to suit the sale of the produce by its members She expressed regret that some non-members of the Association abused the scheduled day-system, resulting in some of the tomato getting rotten and appealed to the AMA to come out with a mechanism to help monitor the activities of the traders. Mr Nathaniel Nunoo who led the officers of the IRS to collect the taxes from the tomato traders expressed gratitude to the Association, saying; "We want to widen the tax net to cover all the small-sale traders". He urged other associations to emulate GATTA.