Govt to legislate property tax collection

The government has set up a committee to draft comprehensive legislation to efficiently improve property rates administration and collection across the country.

It followed a failed attempt to implement the tax through a combined effort of both the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) under the unified common platform (UCP) in 2023.

The new legislative instrument, when completed, will ensure the effective implementation of the Local Governance Act, 2016, (Act 936) to improve property rate collection.

“You would recall that GRA was tasked to assist MMDAs in implementing a unified common platform for property rates administration, enhancement, collection and accountability.

“Following the challenges encountered, the initiative had to be halted by the government to allow both GRA and the MMDAs to streamline their processes for implementation,” the Director in charge of the Revenue Policy Division at the Ministry of Finance, Dr George Winful, said at the National Tax Conference in Accra on August 29.

The conference

The conference was part of an initiative meant to provide an update on a four-year project on promoting progressive property taxation and tax compliance, which started in 2019.

The project sought to contribute to improving domestic revenue mobilisation and social accountability, for which Oxfam partnered Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Friends of the Nation in the Western Region, Norsaac in the Northern Region, the Shama District and Sagnarigu Municipal Assemblies to implement the project.

The conference was on the theme: “Improving progressive property taxation and tax compliance in Ghana: the key to increased domestic revenue mobilisation in Ghana”.

It provided an opportunity to share the success stories and launch various research products generated during the lifetime of the project to contribute to the national tax dialogue in Ghana.

Medium-term revenue strategy

Dr Winful noted that various steps had been taken over the years to enhance the collection, accounting and reporting of property rates, to promote transparency.

He said the medium-term revenue strategy envisaged a review of the current property rate system to widen the scope, improve administrative efficiency and increase revenue.

He said the five-year public financial management (PFM) strategy supported by the World Bank also sought to address the challenges associated with property rates.

“Though the property rates seem to be a low-hanging fruit in domestic revenue mobilisation, there is no denying the fact that we are challenged in developing an effective system for the collection of revenue,” he said.

Income earning actors

An Assistant Commissioner at the Policy and Programmes Department of GRA, Dominic Dokbilla Naab, stated that the GRA was targeting income-earning actors in the informal sectors to contribute their quota towards revenue mobilisation with the implementation of a modified taxation scheme in 2024.

He said the authority was also operationalising the special voluntary disclosure programme, which gave opportunity to all Ghanaians who had tax accounts offshore to disclose their incomes.

“It is to provide a conducive atmosphere for work to engender and improve productivity while we build good relationships with our stakeholders.

“The success of progressive taxation, however, depends on our collective efforts. This conference serves as a reminder that tax is not just a legal duty but a moral obligation we owe to our communities and future generations,” he said.

He added that it was through tax compliance that the government could build schools, better healthcare facilities, and infrastructure needed to drive economic growth and social inclusion.

Oxfam commended

The President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG), George Kwatia, commended Oxfam and its partners for organising the conference to help promote property taxation.

“We wish to state that such an initiative has a long way to go in supporting revenue mobilisation and tax compliance by corporate bodies.

“It is heartwarming to note that on occasions like this, we get the opportunity to deliberate on matters of great concern to us and the country as a whole, especially when most people think Ghanaians are overburdened with taxes,” he said.