The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has encouraged taxpayers who feel harassed by its officers to report their concerns to their respective tax offices for resolution.
There have been reports of alleged harassment by some tax officers during tax collection processes.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia raised concerns about the Authority’s perceived harassment of businesses under the guise of tax collection during a discussion with members of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Accra on Wednesday. This discussion took place as the manifesto committee sought input for the 2024 elections.
Dr. Bawumia attributed this situation to the GRA’s practice of setting unrealistic targets for its officers, resulting in the overtaxation of existing businesses.
During the Oxfam Tax Dialogue on Citi TV on Thursday, Emelia Assan, Assistant Commissioner at the GRA, addressed the issue by stating that taxpayers should report instances of harassment to their respective tax offices for resolution.
However, she emphasized that no GRA officer should intimidate any client for taxes. Assan stressed that all officers are trained to be customer-friendly and uphold integrity in their interactions.
“Anytime anyone has an issue with a tax officer, please report to the nearest tax office. Because we know that in our environment, we may find some tax officers because of the backing they have with the law they may go out aggressive. But we are all being trained to be customer friendly, to be supportive, to be fair and exhibit a lot of integrity in our work.”
“So I expect that if a tax player feels that he is being harassed he should walk to his tax office and ensure that we resolve these issues,” she stated.