The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the government will start the collection of property rate by end of April 2022.

This is part of measures to raise revenue domestically to revive the economy and also plug the loopholes in the country’s taxing system.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday (24 March) to state measures the government has instituted to mitigate the current economic hardship, Ofori-Atta said, “we will begin the implementation and collection of the revised property rate by end of April 2022.”

Also, he said the government is set to implement software to help simplify tax collection.

“We’ll roll out the simplified tax filing mobile application for all eligible taxpayers by July 2022.”

Other domestic revenue mobilisation measures

1. Begin the implementation and collection of the revised Property Rate by end of April 2022;
2. Implement the E-VAT/E-Commerce/E-Gaming initiatives by end of April 2022;
3. Roll out the simplified tax filing mobile application for all eligible taxpayers by July 2022;
4. Impress upon Parliament to fast track the passage of the E-Levy Bill, Tax Exemptions Bill, and Fees and Charges Bill;
5. Prioritizes the Revenue Assurance, Compliance, and Enforcement (RACE) Programme to plug revenue leakages, especially at the ports and the infamous fuel bunkering and small-scale mining exporters cabal;
6. The government will partner with the private sector to introduce digital systems to monitor quarrying, sand winning and salt winning to get more revenues from our natural resources; and
7. Immediately enforce the “No Duty – No Exit” policy at the MPS Terminal at the Tema Port to improve revenue collection.

Digital platform for property tax

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia earlier said the government has developed a national common platform for property tax administration for the country

He said the common platform will operate across all the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies across the country.

Dr Bawumia said it is unacceptable for property owners to evade taxes, adding that the lack of an effective property tax regime accounts for this evasion by owners of properties.

Speaking at a public lecture at Ashesi University, on the “Role of Digitalisation in Transforming the Economy,” Dr Bawumia indicated that a digital platform has been developed and will soon be launched, through which homeowners will receive tax bills, pay taxes as well as track their payment history.