A Professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Ghana, Professor Godfred Bokpin has called on the government to simplify the electronic tax payment system to encourage compliance and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show during a discussion on the economy, Prof Bokpin said the current tax system is too complex for many people, making it difficult for them to comply.
“Let’s simplify the tax system and make it easy to comply with, without imposing a substantial burden in terms of compliance cost,” he said.
He explained that tax education alone is not enough and stressed that making the system easy to use is key.
“We have made the tax environment look like a technical intervention, but not everyone has that technical knowledge to comply. So, simplification is very important,” he noted.
Prof Bokpin also said that people are more likely to pay taxes when they see how the revenue is used.
“Tax compliance increases when the taxpaying population sees how those tax revenues are utilised effectively and efficiently in the delivery of public service,” he added.
He advised the new government not to rush into scrapping policies introduced by the previous government but rather review and improve them not only in the tax area but other areas too.
“Sometimes when there is a change in government, we are in a hurry to throw away all that the previous government was doing. I think going forward, the government should hasten slowly, review many of those interventions and see where strengths and weaknesses are,” he said.
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