Ensure healthy relationship with taxpayers
Call for efforts to attract investors to
exploit kaolin deposits
Ensure healthy relationship with taxpayers
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2002 - Tax officials have been urged to establish a healthy working relationship with taxpayers to ensure voluntary compliance. The Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mrs Janet Opoku-Akyeampong, who made the call, said the partnership with taxpayers was important to enable the government to derive enough revenue to meet its social and development obligations.
Until government is able to mobilise substantial financial resources from stable and predictable sources such as income tax, it will not be able to meet its core responsibilities in the social sectors, the provision of infrastructure or provide the institutional framework needed for development."
Mrs Opoku-Akyeampong was speaking at a day's seminar for tax practitioners and taxpayers to educate them on the new developments in the income tax laws and regulations. It was on the theme: "Creating a Healthy Relationship with Taxpayers to Build a Better Ghana."
Mrs Opoku-Akyeampong said to ensure that tax officials adopted a positive attitude to taxpayers the IRS had been organising training programmes for employees in the supervisory grade. "At the same time, we find it extremely important to bring to the attention of tax practitioners and taxpayers new developments in the income tax laws and regulations," she said.
The new amendments are the Free Zones (Amendment) Act 2002 and the National Reconstruction Levy (Amendment) Act 2002. Mrs Opoku-Akyeampong said similar amendments that sought to clarify certain provisions of the income tax laws and plug loopholes in the tax system had been made in the Internal Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2002 and Internal Revenue (Amendment) Regulations 2002.
She said the service was already collaborating with Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and VAT Service to widen the tax net and enhance revenue collection. Mrs Opoku-Akyeampong expressed the hope that participants after the seminar, would help to ensure a smooth implementation of the changes in the new tax administration.
GRi…/
Send your views to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Call for efforts to attract investors to
exploit kaolin deposits
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2002 - The Ministry for Trade and Industry has called on Members of Parliament and the public to join the effort towards attracting investors for the exploitation of kaolin deposits and other local resources.
Kaolin is a basic raw material for the manufacture of a number of products including powder, soap and detergents, porcelain plates and dishes, ceramic water closets, bathroom sandals (Charlie wote) and pharmaceuticals.
The Deputy Minister for the Ministry, Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei made the call in Parliament on Tuesday when answering a question asked by Ms Akua Sena Dansua,
NDC-North Dayi if there were plans by the ministry to harness the large deposits of kaolin at the Anfoega mountain range for industrial purposes.
Mr Osei-Adjei said Kaolin deposits are found in Anfoega in the Volta region, Kibi in the Eastern region, Nzema in the Western Region and Saltpond in the Central Region. He said at present it was only the kaolin deposit at Saltpond that was being exploited by Ghana Industrial Ceramic Manufacturing Company, however, a study on the Anfoega kaolin deposit had established the technical feasibility and economic viability of using the kaolin for paint manufacturing among other things.
Mr Osei-Adjei said in 1989, the Kpando District assembly established a company, United Dayi Enterprises Limited to exploit the deposits but the project was yet to take off while arrangements were being made to attract both local and foreign investors.
He said the Ministry was liaising with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and key users of Kaolin (Unilever, PZ and Super Paper Products Limited) to facilitate the attraction of local and foreign investors into the industry.
Mr Osei-Adjei said since the Anfoega deposit was of significant importance and it was government's on-going efforts at improving private sector access to affordable long term capital, the company was now in a better position to source funding to implement the project.
Ms Dansua asked the Minister whether it was not appropriate to tackle the project as a Central Government project instead of leaving it to the District
Assembly since the project would need huge investment to exploit the deposits. The Minister said the policy was to allow for the private sector to develop and the Ghana Investment Fund and other sources were available to assist since it had been observed that government was not a good entrepreneur.
GRi…/
Send your views to viewpoint@ghanareview.com