The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has participated in a geospatial skills training for tax officials from ECOWAS member-states.
The training, which hosted some 50 tax experts from the sub-region, was to equip tax authorities in the region with the knowledge and skills required to use geospatial analytics for tax purposes.
The training was conducted by the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) in collaboration with the GRA in Accra.
Speaking at the workshop, deputy-Commissioner, Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of GRA, Daniel Edisi, said the workshop is timely as it will provide the GRA with understanding of how geospatial analytics can be used to improve tax administration with an ultimate goal to increase revenue mobilisation for Ghana.
“We know that low compliance among tax payers has been a big challenge within tax administration, and this is why a reliable database on taxpayers through geospatial modules has become critical,” he said.
Mr. Edisi explained the initiative will also improve enforcement and facilitate cross-border collaborations among tax administrators in the sub-region.
The two-day workshop, according to GRA, equipped tax administrators with relevant geospatial information; such as the geographical location of both formal and informal businesses, and key information needed to enhance tax compliance such as digital addresses, house-numbers and business addresses.
The Coordinator and Training Capacity Building Manager for WATAF, Dan-Asade Ozayashi, said geospatial analytics will help tax administrations in West Africa to know the location of taxpayers – including monitoring the business-growth of taxpayers.
“This special tool also helps to map out the amount of revenue that is being generated in specific sectors of the economy,” he said.
Mr. Ozayashi noted that as businesses are going digital, it is important that tax administrators devise strategies to boost collection and maximise revenue collection in the long-term.
He said several countries in Africa currently do not have geospatial data – a circumstance that does not augur well for tax systems that are harnessing technology for tax collection.
