Takoradi March 14, GNA- Mr Toy Sarpong, Head of Clients Service at the Takoradi Valued Added Tax (VAT) Office said the country's tax administration had been restructured over the last few years to increase internally generated revenue to the State.

He was speaking at an education programme on taxation organized by the Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) in Takoradi.

Mr Sarpong said it was against this bac kground that the VAT was introduced to replace the sales and service taxes, which were collected by the Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

He said VAT was an indirect tax, which was charged on consumption expenditure and was levied on the valued added created at the various stages in the production and distribution process of a product to which the tax was applicable.

Mr Sarpong said the current VAT rate of 15 per cent and 10 per cent was paid into the consolidated fund, 2.5 per cent into the Ghana Education Trust Fund and a further 2.5 per cent into the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He said a Flat Rate Scheme of three per cent for retailers whose annual turnover fell within 100 million and 1. 2 billion cedis only was yet to be implemented.

Mr Sarpong said tax offences that attracted penalties include failure to register, issue tax invoice and maintain proper records as well as evasion of tax payment.

He said these offences as well as the reluctance of government institutions to purchase from VAT registered traders and inadequate logistics were some of the factors hampering effective collection of the tax.

Mr Samuel Atta Berfi, a Principal Inspector of Tax at the Regional Office of the IRS, advised the public to pay their taxes on gifts. He said the gift tax was not imposed on gifts from one member of a family to another by will or intestate. Mr Berfi said gifts for religious purposes or for the best of the public did not attract tax.

He said the Regional IRS was expected to collect a little over 242 billion cedis out of the national target of 9.3 trillion cedis this year.

Mr Daniel Afropong, Regional Director of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, who chaired the function appealed to the public to pay their taxes to enable the country to move forward. He said the tax net should be widened to bring in more taxpayers and urged revenue collecting agencies to be honest to dispel public perception that they are corrupt.

Mr Orpheus Mensah, Metropolitan Director of NCCE, said people could demand social infrastructure and other facilities and hold government accountable on it's spending when they paid their taxes. He the citizenry to show interest in the development of the country and to co-operate with their elected leaders as good citizens to achieve this national objective.

Nana Asante Krobea, a Principal Collector of CEPS, said the service was to collect 16 trillion cedis as revenue this year. 14 March 07