The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Buwumia, has appealed to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to consider the Ghana Card as the basis of data and the information it needs to widen the country’s tax net.
He said since the merger of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) into the Ghana Card system, the government had been able to increase the number of people with TIN from the four per cent it inherited in 2017 to the current 85 per cent.
“So I am admonishing GRA. I am saying that the data is available now that we have put this together,” the Vice-President said.
“It is a very lazy approach to go and keep looking for taxes from people who are already paying their taxes when you can look at the vast majority who are not paying their taxes,” he lamented, stressing that once the tax net was widened and a lot more revenue generated, there would be no need to increase taxes.
KNUST’s 57th Congregation
Dr Bawumia made the appeal in a keynote address at the 57th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi last Friday.
The event was graced by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who doubles as the Chancellor of the KNUST; the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, and the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Rita Akosua Dickson.
Others in attendance at the fully-packed Great Hall of the KNUST were politicians, academics and traditional leaders.
Credit scoring system
The Vice-President hinted that early next year, the government would launch a credit scoring system for individuals.
“Every individual would have a credit score,” he said, adding that because the credit score system did not exist, everyone was seen as risky, and therefore, interest rates were higher.
That notwithstanding, Dr Bawumia noted that recognising the demands of the Free SHS on the tertiary institutions, the government promised its unwavering support to enhance infrastructure and facilities, including the completion of the KNUST Teaching Hospital, to help bring the training and formation of students less burdensome.
He also pledged to personally donate 100 laptops to the university in support of the “Support One Needy Student with One Laptop” project.
Asantehene
The Asantehene, in a short address, advocated the need for students, alumni of the KNUST, and well-wishers to contribute towards the “KNUST Day of Giving”, an initiative which seeks to raise GH¢200 million for the construction of a 2,000-capacity hall of residence for students.
The congregation climaxed the 12th R.P Baffour Memorial Lectures, delivered by the Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Joe Anokye, on the theme: “ A New Age for a Renewed Focus in an Era of Disruptive Technologies”.
For his contribution to Ghana’s telecommunication industry, Mr Anokye and some other technocrats were honoured with honorary doctorates for their contributions to nation-building.
The KNUST has at its 57th Congregation awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc Honoris Causus) degree to the Director-General of the NCA.
The rest are a former Vice-Chancellor of the KNUST, Emeritus Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa; the first female Registrar of the KNUST, Sophia Ashiokai Quashie-Sam, and the Technical Coordinator of the Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) and former Chief Executive of Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo), William Amuna.
The remaining are the Chairman of the Associated Consultants, Frederick Asare-Yeboah; the Managing Director of the Agricultural Manufacturing Group Limited (AMG), Ernest Kwasi Appiah, and the Chief Programmes Officer, MasterCard Foundation, Canada, Professor Peter Materu.
Vice-Chancellor
The Vice-Chancellor commended the graduands for the successful completion of their various Programmes, urging them to take up chances while they enter the world of work, to make themselves, their families, as well as their alma mater proud.