GRA boss on exchange of tax information

Mr. George Blankson, Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has said the Exchange of Information (EOI) for tax purposes has become a key building block for economic development in Africa.

It will facilitate sound, effective tax systems which will promote accountability and lead to a positive impact on the quality of governance. It will as well decrease long-term aid-dependency in Africa.

EOI was developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Global Forum Working Group on effective exchange of Information to promote international cooperation on tax matters through exchange of information.

The agreement grew out of the work undertaken by the OECD and represents the standard of effective exchange of information needed to address harmful tax practices.

The group consisted of representatives from OECD member-countries as well as delegates from Aruba, Bermuda, Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Isle of Man, Malta, Mauritius, the Netherlands Antilles, the Seychelles and San Marino.

About 95 countries have committed to help arrest the problem of tax-evasion by multinational companies.

Mr. Blankson made this known in Accra at a workshop organised by the GRA on EOI for taxation to create awareness on the global trend of information exchange in international taxation.

“EOI has been a key article in most taxation conventions over the years, due to the recent financial scandal that have 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 explained.

Mr. Blankson indicated that the OECD has 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 revealed that Ghana has been invited to join the Global Forum on Transparency and EOI due to its potential for major economic growth with the production of oil and establishment of financial centres.

Major Daniel Ablorh-Quarcoo (Rtd), Commissioner, Domestic Revenue Division, GRA, urged participants to equip themselves with modern international tax practices to ensure transparency and avoid tax fraud and evasion.

“The era of secrecy is over, and tax fraud and evasion have no place in today’s world,” he remarked.