Independent Tax Appeal Board sworn in to improve tax dispute resolution
The Minister of Finance in Ghana, Ken Ofori-Atta, has sworn in the members of the first-ever Independent Tax Appeal Board (ITAB) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) with a mandate to establish a robust tax dispute resolution system to support revenue mobilization.
The 11-member board was established in line with the Revenue Administration Amendment Act, 2020 (Act 1029).
The Minister emphasized the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms as a speedy and cost-effective approach to resolving disputes, including tax disputes. He believes that an ADR mechanism would boost investor confidence and reduce the time spent litigating for both taxpayers and tax administrators.
The establishment of the ITAB will provide a cost-effective means of resolving tax disputes for both the GRA and taxpayers, and also relieve the Ministry of the duty of having to mediate disputes between the GRA and taxpayers.
The Chairman of the Independent Tax Appeal Board, Justice Lawrence Mensah, a retired Appeals Court Judge, stated that the goal of any dispute settlement body such as the ITAB is to ensure access to justice.
He added that the ITAB will focus on providing an efficient, effective forum for speedily resolving disputes that could create threats for market players and distort the government’s income generation projections and even affect the GRA. He assured that the ITAB will operate with integrity in all facets of its work.
The Minister also noted that Ghana’s tax-to-GDP rate of 13% is one of the lowest in West Africa, despite the concerted efforts of the tax authorities.
He commended the GRA for exceeding its revenue target for 2022 by over GHC3 billion but called for more efforts to enable the country to reach the revenue generation levels of the OECD countries, whose tax levels are almost triple that of Ghana.
