Consequently, such reforms and improvements described by top GRA officials as “a game changer” have successfully assisted in “steering the tax deficiencies and closing the revenue gaps” of the country.
Furthermore, report of the implementation of the reforms seen by The Point has reportedly resulted in income tax from property rentals growing by over “70 percent in the first half of 2024” alone.
In addition, it also revealed that Yankuba Darboe, GRA Commissioner General, with his team has done a “tremendously job beyond expectation” and that during the first half of 2024, tax revenue has “surpassed its original target by 7% … revenue is nearly 30% above the same period in 2023”
Global Financial officials also mentioned the critical deployment of an Excise Tax Stamp and Petroleum Marking Solution for Excisable Goods, Telecoms and Energy introduced by the GRA and its stakeholders.
It is intended to control “tax evasion, underreporting, smuggling, other illicit practices” as well as to “safeguard fair competition and increase revenue … ensuring a fair and equitable tax system for all taxpayers”.
Accordingly, this correspondent was informed by officials that the “Excise Stamp has registered a significant boost in revenue … in order words, what was collected before the rollout of the system and after it was applied has increased collection on Excise by more than 500%. It is quite a significant gain and a game changer”.
It is vital to note that following monetary funding and backing from the European Union and the World Bank plus substantial technical support from the IMF, the Directorate of Revenue and Tax that was recently established is also making “significant progress”.
The Directorate was tasked with “designing, formulating, reviewing, and monitoring tax policy”.
Additionally, government’s interest and desire in closing revenue holes via its Medium Term Fiscal Framework to increase domestic revenue from 12% in 2022 to 15 % GDP by 2028 is described as “positive”.
The financial institutions, however, recognised that even though the reform has significantly increased revenue, it has not completely fixed the collection deficits.
