Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance, says in its effort to widen the tax net, the government is contemplating introducing flat taxes for some categories of income in Ghana.

He said this will also help the government to generate the revenue it needs to fund development projects in the country.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin, the minister said: “We are also contemplating maybe some issues of flat taxes for some categories of incomes so that everybody participates.

“But beyond the beauty of me getting more money [is that] with that type of technology base, I’m able to titrate welfare interventions a lot more precisely …”

Revenue mobilization
The government is poised to roll out various measures to mobilize more revenue for its flagship programmes.

Presenting the 2021 Mid-Year Budget Review on 29 July, the Finance Minister said that the government is aware of the critical importance of raising additional revenue to implement the national recovery and transformation agenda.

“We are therefore transforming the Ghana Revenue Authority [GRA] to drive our quest for burden-sharing and sustainable revenue mobilization.”

Ofori-Atta said the transformation agenda is not just about mobilizing more: it is equally about mobilizing sustainably with the help of technology.

In delivering the 2021 Mid-Year Budget Review, Ofori-Atta was at pains to point out that he was not asking for parliamentary approval for additional money. The government was proud to defend its performance in the first half of the year under review, the minister said.

“I am not here today to ask for more money. I have not come to ask for more taxes. I have come to update the House on the performance of the economy for the first half-year of 2021 and our plans for the unexpired term of the year,” he said.

He said the government is building robust and integrated data systems under the Ghana CARES/Obaatanpa programme to advance the cause of raising more revenue.