A Tax Consultant Ali Nakyea Abdallah has urged employees to insist on completing tax relief forms to enable them take advantage of the product.
According to him, Ghana’s tax laws grant some reliefs for some categories of workers but most employees in the country hardly access the reliefs.
A recent Legislative Instrument passed to clarify the Income Tax Law, 2015 pointed out that some categories of workers can access tax relief upfront.
They include; marriage and responsibility relief, child relief, old age relief, aged dependent relative relief and disability relief.
Speaking an interview with Citi Business News, Mr. Abdallah maintained that tax reliefs have been in existence in Ghana’s tax laws contrary to some assertions that it was just introduced recently.
“The granting of relief upfront is not now beginning. It’s been there all this years. Way back in 2000 it came up with tax relief credit forms that employees were supposed to complete, endorsed by their employers, taken to the GRA office and they will also satisfy and return it to the employer,” he said.
He explained that the employer will only endorsed it to testify that an employee is qualified for the relief due to access to the employee’s personal information.
By this, Mr. Abdallah stated that the employer will then be given the power to grant the relief upfront.
“So if you have not completed the tax relief credit cards then you can only claim it when you file your returns at the GRA , meaning you have to provide your supporting documentation by way of your marriage certificate, a letter from the school where your children attend,” he said.
He stated that even though tax reliefs have been in existence the only element missing is employees taking advantage of it.
–
By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
