The Chamber for Local Governance (ChaLoG) has said it has become aware of the spirited defence being put up by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), ostensibly to justify the use of a state institution as a decoy to cover up for a private company to illegally takeover the collection of Property Rate Taxes from Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MMDAs).
ChaLoG said granted that the GRA is the actual Government Agency collecting the Property Rate Taxes, the questions that are then begging for immediate answers from the GRA are ” Does the GRA consider MMDAs to be Government Agencies?
” Does the GRA consider monies it claims it is collecting on behalf of the MMDAs as Government Funds? Which Government Account are the collections being lodged beyond the stipulated 48 hours? Why is the GRA collecting 30% Commission from the MMDAs in contravention of the GRA Act, 2009 (Act 791) which entitles it nothing above 3%? Which local government entity did the GRA sign the contract, mandating it to take over the collection of Property Rate Taxes from the MMDAs?
“Was there a General Assembly Resolution passed by the 261 MMDAs mandating that entity to sign any contract ceding collection of Property Rate Taxes to the GRA? Is the myassembly.gov.gh Account a Government or private company account? If it is a government account, why then did the GRA transfer the monies lodged into the myassembly.gov.gh account to a private company’s account to be forwarded to the MMDAs? If it is a private company’s account, why did the GRA give out that account to rate payers for Government Funds to be paid into it and kept beyond 48 hours? Why was the purported 70% share for the MMDAs transferred to them through a Private Company’s Account and not through the myassembly.gov.gh which is the designated receiving account?
” Why did the Private Company deduct its 30% Commission at source before transferring the purported 70% to the MMDAs, when such funds are or were government funds? Why was the total monies collected in each of the MMDAs not attached to the transfers made to the MMDAs by the Private Company as evidence of their 70% share?”
For the avoidance of doubt, ChaLoG said the Ghana Revenue Authority Act, 2009 (Act 791), expressly stipulates how the Authority is to handle revenues it collects on behalf of Government.
With respect to revenues collected, Section 21 (1) states that “Revenue collected by the Authority under this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund in accordance with the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654). 21 (2) says ” The Authority shall retain not more than 3 percent of the net annual revenue collected”
On the payments of revenues collected, the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I 2378) expressly states in Section 37 (1) that the “GRA and other covered entities shall ensure that tax and non-tax revenues and other moneys owed to the Ghana Revenue Authority and other covered entities received, are within forty-eight hours, paid into designated government Accounts”.
“ChaLoG’s independent investigations has revealed that the GRA is not the actual institution collecting the Property Rate Taxes, but only been used as a decoy to front for a private company.
“As if that is not enough, the GRA is also in cahoot with the private company to hold on illegally to government funds beyond the stipulated 48 hours in sharp contravention of the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654) and the Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I 2378).
“ChaloG further contends that even if the GRA’s deception of being the institution collecting the Property Rate Taxes is to be believed, they will also be flouting Section 21 of the Ghana Revenue Authority Act, 2009 (Act 791) which does not permit it of more than 3% of public funds it collects.”