Ghanaians have described as ?diversionary? the move by the president to file his tax returns at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Office in Kinbu in Accra.?
According to a cross-section of Ghanaians interviewed by the paper, President John Dramani Mahama initiated the move as a means of diverting attention from the numerous crises facing the country.?
?The President could have done himself lot of good in 2012 if he had responded to calls for presidential candidates to file their tax returns?and since he failed that test, why is he doing it now? 63-year-old, Kwame Ativor, asked rhetorically.
According to him, since the president failed to take up the challenge, what he is doing now is just a cosmetic dressing to divert public attention from the numerous crises in the country now.
?We have problems in the country now-water, energy, gas crisis and industrial actions but he [President Mahama] has chosen to concentrate on other things [such as filing of tax returns] filing? just to deflect attention?he should solve these problems!? he stressed.
And it is in the face of all these that President John Dramani Mahama last Tuesday went to the Kinbu Office of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to file his tax returns for the 2012 fiscal year.
The president, according to reports, used the occasion to pay taxes on extra incomes for the year 2012.
While some Ghanaians lauded the move by the president in fulfilling his tax obligations majority described the move as a bad precedent because according to them he filed late.
Such views were shared by many other interviewees who said since the president failed to make a public show of filing his tax returns when he was a vice-president he has no excuse for doing that now.
In the wake of this debate, Today?s research discovered that the 2012 flag bearer of the Progressive People?s Party (PPP,) Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, filed his 2012 tax returns early this year.
And in accordance with Dr. Nduom leading by example, he filed his tax returns for 2012 before the stipulated deadline set by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The paper?s findings showed that the astute businessman and politician filed his tax returns on 1st March, 2013 and subsequently proceeded to pay it on the 20th of the same month and year, ten clear days before the stipulated deadline by the GRA.
According to the GRA regulations, all tax returns for the previous year must be filed by the end of the first quarter of the new year, [by March ending], and this Dr. Nduom did as a law-abiding citizen of the land.
In contrast, President Dramani Mahama filed his 2012 tax returns on 2nd April, 2013 which means that he filed late.
Per the GRA rules on filing of tax returns, the president was liable to pay a penalty which it is unclear whether he has been charged or not.
And this opinion is shared by the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr., who believes that President Mahama set a bad example by filing his tax returns very late.
?The president has a lot of people at his disposal, lawyers, professionals,? he said, adding that they should have done background checks on every action the president takes because ?as much as possible the presidency must avoid controversy,? the Insight editor advised.
It would be recalled that in the run-up to the 2012 elections, Dr. Nduom affirmed his party?s commitment to providing a corruption-free society as a means of ensuring effective management of the state?s resource for rapid development.
Dr. Nduom said as a means of eradicating the canker of corruption from the society, he would provide practical leadership that would increase transparency in governance of the country.
?I will ask the Internal Revenue Service to provide me with certified true copies of my income tax returns, permit the Auditor-General to provide me with certified true copies of [my] assets report that I filed as a Minister of State and Member of Parliament, and submit myself to a comprehensive medical examination at a health facility approved by the Ministry of Health?,? Dr. Nduom intimated at a press conference in August 2012.
At the said press conference, Dr. Nduom went on to give the assurance that he will do all these before filing nomination papers to officially become a candidate for the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
And true to his words, he submitted to the Ghanaian populace, all documents of his tax returns and his tax certificate.
He subsequently challenged President Mahama and NPP?s Nana Akufo-Addo to do same to show their preparedness to operate a transparent administration and help to eradicate corruption from the society.
?I am here to challenge all other Presidential Candidates to make a firm commitment to the principles of incorruptible leadership as well?,? he was quoted as saying.
Eight months later, President Mahama has however seen the need to abide by the rules of engagement set by the 2102 PPP flag-bearer and has proceeded to file his tax returns albeit late.
Today also established that Dr. Nduom proposed in a presentation to the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) to amend the constitution to make the President pay tax. In his presentation Dr. Nduom emphasised the point that the President MUST lead by example stressing that tax payment is a big problem in Ghana and must be taken seriously.
