Tax Analyst Francis Timore Boi has recommended the creation of specialized courts to address the issue of property tax evasion.
He suggests that those who neglect to pay property taxes could face severe consequences, including property seizures and legal action, drawing on similar practices observed in other countries.
Mr Boi believes that implementing such measures could greatly increase property tax revenue and decrease local assemblies’ reliance on central government funding.
Speaking to Citi Business News at the National Tax Conference hosted by Oxfam, Boi emphasized the importance of enforcing property tax regulations through local assemblies.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) views low property rate compliance as primarily an attitudinal issue.
“Taxation is not a donation. It’s not like a church where you call people to come and give as and when they can. It is enforcement which will bring the tax revenue.
Dominic Naab, Assistant Commissioner with the Policy and Programmes Department, stated that citizens must see tangible results from their taxes to encourage better compliance.
“The problem is that when the district assemblies even do their assessments in the past when they were serving bills to individuals and companies, when you don’t pay nothing happens to you… there is no enforcement. In some jurisdictions, the local council can even enforce the payment by attaching your property.
While he acknowledged the problem, Mr Naab argued against harsh measures for increasing property tax payments, advocating instead for enhanced educational efforts to improve understanding and compliance.
“They can even seize your property and say you have defaulted. We are calling for special courts to be established so that for those who don’t comply with the law, the court deals with them. District Assemblies should be able to drag people to court for non-compliance to the local government act for the payment of property taxes.”
“We have tried this kind of path before where we used brute force to collect taxes but we think that it hasn’t helped over the years. What we should rather be doing is encouraging compliance.
The National Tax Conference was held under the theme “Improving Progressive Property Taxation and Tax Compliance: The Key to Increased Domestic Revenue Mobilization in Ghana.”