Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has indicated that the government is taking a step to assist the Metropolitan Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) to implement a common platform for property rate administration to enable them effectively collect property rates in the country.
He enlightened that property rates have the possibility to increase revenue mobilization for MMDAs and release resources for the provision of basic infrastructure including the needs of our localities.
Hence property rate assessment and collection pose a challenge to most MMDAs and are troubled with ineptitudes.
During the presentation of the 2022 budget, Ken Ofori-Atta stated that the government through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will from January 2022, help the MMDAs to implement a common platform for property rate administration to enhance property rate collections and its accountability.
To ensure cost recovery by government in providing the infrastructure for the collection of the Rate, a sharing ratio will be agreed with the Assemblies,” he added.
With decreasing revenue streams attributable to the slowdown in business activities occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic, Ghana is covering behind most of its peers within the West African sub-region as far as the tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is concerned.
While Ghana is doing below 15 per cent, countries in the sub-region including Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria are winged around an average of 18 per cent, prompting the government to employ innovative ways of broadening its tax net.
With this Ken Ofori-Atta clarified that despite the fact that the hardship Ghanaians have been experiencing due to the COVID-19 virus is not lost on the government, it is also necessary that government improves its revenue mobilization in an economy put under extreme distress by the pandemic.
Sources: Mybrytfmonline/Abba Kwegyirba Aggrey
