The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is attributing is improved revenue collection in 2018 to the engagement of tax consultants McKinsey.
Commissioner-General, Kofi Nti mentioned the group was engaged in July, 2018 after missing their revenue targets for years in hopes of stemming the losing tide adding their insights and counsel proved valuable in closing the tax gap in certain sectors.
Although some analysts reckoned the engagement was not value for money, since there were ongoing reforms at the ports to plug leaks as well as the offer of tax discounts which encouraged businesses and individuals to make payments, Mr. Nti insists McKinsey helped the authority to recover revenue in the custom area at the ports, a place where negative growth had been recorded in previous years.
In 2018, the GRA managed to raise GHc37.6 billion from its revenue generation target of GHc39.4 billion recording a 5.7 percent deficit but the Commissioner-General sees the 2018 summary as an improved performance which can only be bettered in 2019.
Government has set a target of GHc58.9 billion in the 2019 budget which Mr. Ofori-Atta believes can be achieved by enforcing tax compliance helping government achieve its domestic revenue estimate of GHc57.8 billion.
McKinsey, says it has 950 tax practitioners including lawyers, economists and advisers in more than 40 countries.
It adds: “Tax counsel to leading multinational companies for more than five decades, our Global Tax Practice is one of the most highly regarded in the world. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global for our work across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, clients and industry peers recognize the high quality of the tax advice we provide in transactions, as well as in global tax policy, transfer pricing, indirect tax, dispute resolution and wealth management matters, worldwide.”
By Michael Eli Dokosi/goldstreetbusiness.com