Revise Tax Exemption Regime – Geofrey Ocansey To Gov’t

Geofrey Kabutey Ocansey, the Executive Director of Revenue Mobilisation Africa, has called on the government to reconsider its tax exemption policies.

he told Vivian Kai Lokko on the Tax Dialogue on Citi TV on Thursday, March 21, 2024.

Mr. Ocansey referred to a study carried out by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), revealing that approximately 80 percent of Ghanaians are willing to contribute taxes but desire transparency regarding how those taxes are utilized.

During an interview with Vivian Kai Lokko on the Tax Dialogue on Citi TV on Thursday, March 21, 2024, he stated “A CDD study found that about 80 percent of Ghanaians were ready to pay more taxes but they wanted to see what those revenues, when collected, would be used for.”

Mr. Ocansey advocated for the implementation of a progressive tax system to address the loopholes in Ghana’s tax system.

“The big and small companies, one thing is that there is a structure in place. Everybody must pay something and if you want to be progressive, the rich pay more, and the middle pay a little more than those down there and then you have a very good tax system.”

“There are a lot of exemptions for the companies and so sometimes when I hear the big companies complaining, sometimes, I sit back and wonder.”

“This year alone, we are targeting $449 million to be given out to countries in exemptions and same country, we are going to another place to ask for a loan of about $450 million.”