Business entities and residents of the Central Gonja District in the Northern Region have been sensitized on the need to pay taxes to the state to ensure availability of resources to undertake development projects in the country.

The two week-long exercise, which formed part of the second phase of the district-wide tax education campaign, was undertaken by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

''The campaign, which was on the theme: “Our Tax, Our Future,” was to persuade as well as inform the populace on the need to be tax compliant so as to increase national revenue through tax collection.

The Central Gonja District Directorate of NCCE undertook 51 activities, which included door to door public education in seven communities, two major markets as well as 10 dawn and dusk community announcements to drum home the message of tax compliance.

The communities included Kusawgu, Sankpala, Yapei, Yapei-yipala, Domeabra/Mpaha, Damongo Junction, Fulfulso township, Buipe township, whiles the markets included Buipe and Yapei.

This was to ensure that more people were covered by the tax net through registration of business with the Registrar General’s Department and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Mr Ayaala Abdulai, Central Gonja District Director of NCCE, who led the team to undertake the tax compliance campaign in the communities, emphasized that “Paying of taxes to the relevant agencies was therefore, an act of fulfilling a call to duty by the nation as a citizen or non-citizen engaged in a lawful chosen business.

Mr Abdulai said all religions upheld payment of tax as an obligation and service to God, hence the need for all to pay taxes to the state adding paying taxes would empower citizens to demand accountability from service providers or duty-bearers.

He said taxes helped government to create jobs and provide other social amenities urging taxable entities and individuals to visit GRA to secure tax stamps for their products to ensure that the needed taxes for each product were paid to avoid sanctions since evading or refusing to pay tax was an offence.

He quoted the Registration of Business Act, 2005 (Act 684), which states “A person shall not carry on any business unless that person has registered the business with the commission” urging business owners to register their operations with the GRA.