Accra, Jan. 20, GNA - The management of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has introduced Exchange of Information (EOI) for taxation as a key block to economic development.

Mr George Blankson, Commissioner General of GRA said the EOI would facilitate sound and effective tax system which would promote accountability and had positive impact on the quality of governance. He was addressing participants at a Seminar on Exchange of Information for Taxation to create awareness on the global trend of exchange information in international taxation in Accra on Thursday. Mr Blankson said EOI had been a key article in most taxation conventions over the years due to the recent financial scandal that had had a negative impact on global revenue generation.

"Since the beginning of 2008, international tax evasion and the implementation of standards of transparency and exchange of information have been very high on the political agenda of most countries," he added.

Mr Blankson explained that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had restructured its global forum on transparency and EOI to eliminate bank secrecy and tax fraud globally. "As part of the restructuring, a model Tax Information Exchange Agreement document was adopted by the OECD which the United Nation (UN) has also accepted," he said.

Mr Blankson said the model was an expansion of an aspect of both the UN and OECD model convention that dealt with EOI for treaty purposes.

He said about 95 countries had committed to help arrest the problem of evasion of taxes by multinational companies. Mr Blankson said Ghana had been invited to join the Global Forum on Transparency and EOI due to her potential for a major economic growth with the production of oil and establishment of financial centres. 20 Jan. 11