The Assistant Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emelia Assam, has responded to the alleged harassment of business owners during tax collection.
This follows concerns raised by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia during a discussion with members of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) on Wednesday.
The NPP flagbearer attributed the situation to the GRA’s practice of setting unrealistic targets for its officers, leading to excessive taxation of existing businesses.
However, Madam Assam has stated the Authority ensures compliance with tax obligations in discharging their duties.
“There is no harassment with tax collection. GRA staff don’t go out to harass,” She stated in an interview on Accra-based Citi TV.
She emphasised that no GRA official has the power to go out and harass clients in their line of duty.
“No tax officer who has been authorised to go out is expected to harass any client. In the sense that we have some compliance issues that we deal with everyday. One is every tax payer must register, failure to register, we can send you a notification to appear.
“We can lock up your place if you fail to respond to these notifications. We have duties to issue invoices for people who are registered to pay VAT,” she stressed.
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