A manufacturer based in the Upper East Region Jacob Avogo has decried Ghana’s tax regime, describing it as business unfriendly.
“So you are just a new apprentice that just passed out. You just kept your container. Even the land you are sitting on, you’ve not even finished paying. The container you’ve put in to sit under, you’ve not even finished paying. And because they just drive passed or they are doing monitoring, they see the container there, you are sitting there with your sewing machine, they come there.”
While Avogo acknowledged that honouring one’s tax obligation is a civil responsibility, he argued that the current tax regime stifles business growth.
“I am not saying we shouldn’t pay tax. But some of these things, they should, they should, they should calm down. They shouldn’t just see you with a small business and they are rushing on you.”
He noted that the numerous and high taxes drive cost of production through the roof, making it impossible for businesses especially start-ups to survive and subsequently, expand.
He cited the struggles of start-ups in the Upper East Region to buttress his argument that the country’s tax regime is suffocating businesses.
Avogo stated that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in charge of revenue mobilization and the local assemblies in the region harass start-ups for taxes, giving them no breathing space to grow.
“You put up your container, you start to sew. The next three days, intern revenue come with padlocks, that you should pay, they call it extension fee. What, what, what fee? Assembly will come.”
The situation, he observed, is not only killing businesses but also denying the state revenue as some business owners, in attempt to ensure sustainability, have devised various means to evade tax.
He wants government to review the prevailing tax measures and make them business friendly.
