Govt sets up Solutions Service Unit to clamp down tax evaders

The Ministry of Finance has announced the establishment of a Solutions Service Unit at the ministry to give the general public an opportunity to offer information that could lead to the retrieval of revenues from tax evaders.

The Unit is to provide an additional channel for taxpayers to report their complaints and receive timely feedback and fair treatment.

Speaking to Citi Business News on the move, a tax analyst with Ali Nakyea and Associates, William Owusu Demitia lauded the move but called for resources to help the unit perform its mandate fully.

“It is good to have a mechanism that will allow whistle blowers to report tax evasion but you need the political will. You have to work on the information that people give you. For me, that is critical,” he said.

Even though the move is not new, Mr. Dimitia was of the view that moving it to the Ministry of Finance may be a calculated plan to make it more effective.

“It is a good step. It is nothing new, it already exist just that now we are putting it under the Ministry of Finance. What we need to do is to get them the resources so that when the information is given we don't just shelve it, we go a step a further to investigate it and make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” he stressed.

He observed that issues of tax evasion must be addressed since it critical to the improvement of revenue generation in the country.

A few people cannot be paying taxes for the majority of people to enjoy. So everybody would have to contribute their share.

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana