Sunyani, Jan 18, GNA - Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister on Tuesday launched the novel tax stamp of the Internal Revenue Service with a call on operators in the informal sector to accept and regard it as a challenge and as their contribution to national development.

He urged them to accept the new system and pay the agreed quarterly installment on time to make it achieve the same level of success as the vehicle income tax sticker system introduced a little over a year ago. The Regional Minister explained that the nation had to generate enough revenue internally to reduce over-dependence on foreign and domestic borrowing to help stabilize the economy.

"The new system seeks to make it convenient and possible for all persons in the informal sector to fulfill their tax obligations without overburdening themselves", he added.

Nana Seinti cautioned staff of the IRS that the successful implementation of the tax stamp would depend on the extent of education that the informal sector and staff would get from the Service.

"It is only when operators in the informal sector become sufficiently educated that the IRS would secure their co-operation. I therefore call on the management of the IRS to intensify their educational drive on the new system", he added.

The Regional Minister commended the management of IRS for coming out "with such a novelty, which is a more reasonable way of paying than the yearly assessed tax that the self-employed were expected to pay in bulk".

In a message read for her, Mrs. Janet Opoku Akyeampong, Commissioner of IRS said, "it is the need to find lasting solutions to the persistently low collection performance of the self-employed that management initiated action with regard to introducing the tax stamp as an effective collection strategy that will increase the level of compliance.

The message, read by Mr. Kwesi Yankah, Assistant Commissioner of the IRS in Brong Ahafo, said the new system, which would be paid quarterly targets income earners such as artisans, hawkers, tabletop shops and mobile-to-mobile operators.