Ghana Revenue Authorithy To Tax Street Beggars
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has served notice it will be taxing street beggars as part of moves to widen the tax net.
The exercise will also target individuals, especially women selling
Dubai Wax prints and other imports through door-to-door and neighboring
nationals trading on bicycles in the Northern region.
The Principal Revenue Chief at the Small Tax Payer Office of the GRA
in the Northern region Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed told journalists that some
individuals occupying the streets are now harvesting a lot of daily
earnings that fall within the tax threshold.
“Those who carry things on their heads to sell (hawkers) be it cloth
or consumables, we will tax them, how much more people who earn daily,”
the Revenue Officer said.
“GRA taxes foreigners in town and by law the beggars fall within the
taxable threshold,” Alhaji Mohammed stressed, adding that those into
alms taking as a form of business and a “hobby” should be ready to pay
tax on their earnings.
GRA officer Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed |
Alhaji Yahaya, however, acknowledged the cumbersomeness of the task
ahead, but added it was necessary to widen the tax net in order to pluck
more revenue.
He said some of the beggars have acquired assets and are making the “begging business” attractive.
“It is difficult to tax them but if they get the understanding that
the income that they are earning, they are supposed to pay something to
government it will help,” the principal STO revenue officer stated.
The officer could not give an estimate of a daily income of the
beggars but strongly believed their earnings were more than enough to be
taxed.
Hundreds of people have circled the Tamale Business District begging
in the streets and pavements.
The individuals mostly the aged are
living with disability and are women nursing or nurturing babies.
A large number of these beggars are coming from Mali and Niger who
entered into Ghana after fleeing from insecurity and hostile economic
conditions.
Source: Starrfmonline.com
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