Public Financial Management Consultancy firm, PFM Tax Africa Network, has highlighted a number of reasons behind government’s inability to achieve its revenue target for the first quarter of this year.
In its assessment of the country’s fiscal performance for Q1 2021, PFM Tax Africa, attributed government’s failure to achieve the targeted revenue for Q1 2021, to ‘strategies’ such as increment in direct and indirect tax rates, extension of temporary tax “sunset” dates, and the blocking of VAT input tax credit (ITC).
According to the Consultancy firm, the aforementioned strategies rather than increasing revenues, seem to encourage tax evasion and avoidance hence preventing government from raking in the needed revenue.
“The strategy to date includes increase in direct and indirect tax rates, extension of temporary tax “sunset” dates, and blocking VAT input tax credit (ITC). Rather than increase revenues, these policies seem to encourage tax evasion and avoidance,” stated PFM Tax Africa.
“They are ineffective without automation, audit and training programs that complement the creation of GRA as an apex body, segmentation of tax offices (now diluted), integration of IRS and VATS, and revamp of tax laws under Phase I of the tax modernization program from 2009 to 2016,” it added.
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On the country’s revenue performance for Q1 2021, the Network asserts that government failed to meet its target revenue of 3.7 percent and 2.8 percent total and tax revenues respectively.
According to PFM Tax Africa, actual provisions of total and tax revenues for Q1 2021, is 3 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
On the back of the unrealized revenue targets for Q1 2021, the Network asserts that there is the need for a higher performance in the remaining quarters to achieve the annual target of 16.7 percent of GDP revenue target.
In monetary terms, revenue attained by government for Q1 2021 was Ghs 12.8 billion as against a target of Ghs 15.8 billion, falling short of some Ghs 3 billion.
