The Ghana Revenue Authority, GRA, says all businesses seeking to acquire TIN numbers now will be made to pay taxes after benefiting from the government’s GH¢1 billion COVID-19 Alleviation Business Support Programme for Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises.
Many business owners that did not have TIN numbers before the COVID-19 Pandemic have besieged the GRA offices in the Volta Region to apply for them.
The TIN number, which is a prerequisite for those applying for the stimulus package, also identifies businesses and enables the GRA to target them for taxes.
Assistant Commissioner at the Medium Scale Taxpayers’ Office at the GRA in the Volta Region, Kwame Owusu Bamfo, says the businesses seeking to benefit from the COVID-19 relief package should be ready to pay taxes.
“We want to say that getting the Tin is not the end of it. Later on, they have to pay tax. We are looking at the job you do. Whether you are a small tax payer or a medium tax payer, once you get the Tin your name will be on our system and we will register you as a taxpayer. In due course we will be assessing you to pay tax because without tax the nation cannot develop. This is a requirement, even in the bible, Romans chapter 13 asks us to pay tax to the authorities,” he said.
GRA
In the wake of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, President Akufo-Addo in March announced that all households and small to medium scale enterprises are to benefit from a stimulus package of one billion Ghana cedis.
This was part of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic in Ghana to sustain businesses.
The initial amount for the SMEs was pegged at GHS600 million, but has been increased to GHS1 billion following a commitment by some participating financial institutions.
Over 14,000 businesses apply for GHS1bn stimulus package for SMEs – NBSSI
So far, the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) says over fourteen thousand business owners have already applied for the one billion stimulus package.
According to NBBSI, majority of the applicants are within the agribusiness and education sectors.
This follows President Akufo-Addo’s launch of the GHC1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme on Tuesday 19th May, 2020.
