The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) George Blankson has urged Ghanaians to remain steadfast and resolute to the cause of Ghana.
Speaking at an awards night for deserving staff and taxpayers at the State Banquet Hall, Mr.Blankson disclosed that the GRA in recent times has undertaken a number of distress actions and other enforcement actions to retrieve taxes owed by recalcitrant taxpayers.
He however lamented the inability of the authority to meet its 2013 target despite strident measures put in place to ensure that many Ghanaians pay their taxes.
The authority collected GH 13.2 billion for 2013, 15.7 percent below the target it set for itself .the amount was, however, a 12 percent improvement over the previous year’s.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Finance, Honorable Seth Tekper tasked the authority to introduce innovative measures in order to widen the tax net.
“It is said that innovation is the bedrock of economic prosperity. Without new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things, we will be stagnant as a country,” he stated.
The finance minister indicated that the awards should be targeted at “the young workforce and encourage them to come up with new ways of mobilizing revenue effectively”.
The 2013 awards night, was on the theme “Recognizing Excellence in Revenue Mobilization for Nation Building”.
Among the award winners were Florence Mensah, Augusta Hammond, Raymond Yao Amedeke.
Source: GhanaWeb
