Revenue Drops By GH�2.54bn

CUMULATIVE REVENUE collection by the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Service, Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the end of the first half of this year, realised an amount of GH�2.16 billion, recording a shortfall after an initial target of GH�4.7 billion. Indeed, the global financial crisis had a toll on the revenue especially import duties, thus affecting CEPS� collection. VAT Service, which originally had targeted to collect GH�393 million, was able to rake in GH�337.6 million, leaving a 14.1 percent shortfall while CEPS, which had planned collecting GH�1.05 billion, received GH�1.03 billion leaving a deficit of 2.4 percent. IRS, on the other hand, had aimed to collect GH�759.9 million but managed to outperform that to achieve GH�792.3 million � netting a 4.3 percent surplus. Under the guidance of the VAT Service, domestic VAT registered GH�219.5 million; domestic excise - GH�30.6 million; domestic National Health Insurance Levy - GH�43.9 million and Communication Service Tax - GH�43.5 million. CEPS which supervised the collection of import duties, import VAT, import NHIL and petroleum tax respectively recorded GH�381.8 million, GH�409.1 million, GH�81.4 million and GH�161.9 million for the above. IRS which administered the collection of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) recorded an excess of 5.3 percent at GH�343.4 million and self-employed tax of GH�36.8 million � a deviation of 3.5 percent. It also accrued GH�340.5 million� a surplus of 2.9 percent for corporate tax, GH� 40.2 million � a surplus of 12.4 percent for mineral royalties and other taxes which recorded a 9.1 percent surplus at GH�31.1 million. Samuel Sallas-Mensah, Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), explaining some factors that might have militated against the revenue agencies with regard to meeting their respective targets, in an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE, attributed this to the global financial crisis and its attendant dwindling foreign direct investment, and developed countries� slowing demand for imports among others. Since taking over as Executive Secretary of RAGB, Mr Sallas-Mensah has been drumming home his outfit�s decision to integrate the three revenue collection agencies under a single umbrella body � Ghana Revenue Authority. �VAT and IRS will merge to be handled by a commissioner since these collect domestic taxes while CEPS which collects frontier or international taxes will form another department headed by another commissioner. A third commissioner would solely be charged with overseeing specialized functions like audit reporting, administration, human resources, finance, legal, etc.� Currently, the three agencies employ about 6000 personnel. He added that the authority syndrome has caught on very well in a lot of countries including Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Liberia and Sierra Leone with the exception of Ghana and Nigeria.