The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is poised for increased success this year after beating its revenue target for 2022.
The authority collected GH¢3.6 billion more in revenue in 2022 than it was tasked to collected, making it the second year in a row that the tax collection and administration body has exceeded its target.
Data from GRA show that although the authority was tasked to collect GH¢71.94 billion last year, it mobilised GH¢75.54 billion at the end of the year, indicating a surplus of about five percent.
The 2022 collection also showed that the authority grew revenues by 31.5 per cent in 2022, the highest in recent years.
The Commissioner-General of GRA, Dr Amissadai Owusu-Amoah, said in an interview that the results showed that efforts the authority to increase revenue mobilisation were yielding the desired results.
He explained that the higher than targeted collections for 2022 were driven by increased collections from domestic revenue and customs.
Dr Owusu-Amoah attributed the success to the commitment of staff and the cooperation of taxpayers.
He said although the 2023 target was yet to be set, the authority was now poised to double its effort this year.
In 2022, GRA was tasked to collect a total tax revenue of GH¢80.30 billion.
However, in the 2022 Mid-Year Budget and Economic Policy Statement the target was revised to GH¢71.94 billion, a reduction of GH¢8.36 billion representing 10.4 per cent.
“I am happy to announce that by the close of the 2022 fiscal year, the authority had collected a total tax revenue of GH¢75.54 billion as against a revised target of GH¢71.94 billion, exceeding the target by GH¢3.60 billion.
“This performance represents a nominal growth of 31.5 per cent over the tax revenue collected in the 2021 fiscal year,” he said.
Dr Owusu-Amoah explained that domestic tax revenue and Customs revenue recorded nominal growth of 28.9 per cent and 38.4 per cent respectively.
He noted that total tax revenue collected by the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) in 2022 was GH¢53.28 billion as against a target of GH¢51.75 billion.
This, he said represented a positive deviation of GH¢1.53 billion.
He said the Customs Division, on the other hand, collected GH¢22.26 billion as against a target of GH¢20.20 billion.
He said Customs also exceeded the target by GH¢2.06 billion.
According to him, the target was achieved mainly as a result of rigorous efforts by the authority which brought about transparency and efficiency in tax administration.
Turning his attention to 2023, the Commissioner noted that a number of policy measures initiatives would be rolled out to further enhance GRA’s revenue mobilisation efforts.
He said the policies included the implementation of the 2.5 per cent increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate, reduction in the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) rate to one per cent, and resumption of collection of Vehicle Income Tax (VIT).
He said the others were the resumption of collection of Tax Stamp, complete reversal of the discount of import values of general goods and home delivery values of vehicles and partnering the MMDAs in the collection of property rates.
He said these revenue measures would go a long way to complement efforts in achieving the authority’s goals.
He urged all staff to put in extra efforts to ensure that the implementation of the new revenue measures goes smoothly.
“Let’s all staff continue to approach their work with a great sense of commitment and enthusiasm so that collectively we can achieve the target we have set for ourselves,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Board, Management and staff of the GRA has expressed it greatest appreciation to cherished taxpayers and customers for showing great patriotism to the nation by honouring their tax obligations and contributing their quota to the socio-economic development of the nation.
It said: “We strongly believe that 2023 will record greater successes for your individual businesses and you will continue to honour your tax obligations faithfully.
“Let’s always remember to comply with the Tax Laws of Ghana; File your tax returns on time; Pay your taxes by due dates; Always remember to keep proper records of your business,” the Authority concluded,” board and management of GRA said.