The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has declared its intention to pursue landlords and foreign nationals who exploit residential properties for commercial purposes to evade taxation, warning that offenders will face severe penalties.
Following an intelligence-gathering exercise from recent enforcement operations, the GRA uncovered a rising trend of residences being covertly converted into commercial centres, frequently operating outside the tax bracket.
According to the GRA, these practices are resulting in substantial revenue losses and undermining compliance initiatives.
During a targeted operation in East Legon and parts of Tema, GRA enforcement teams inspected several residential properties suspected of hosting unregistered businesses, and their findings confirmed a widespread pattern.
The Accra Area Manager of the GRA, Joseph Annan, stated that many identified businesses were not consistently issuing VAT receipts.
“Non-issuance of VAT… they are selling, but then of course once in a while they do issue, but then most times they don’t,” he said, pointing to deliberate attempts to stay off the radar.
He stated that some of these properties have been leased to foreign nationals, particularly Chinese operators, who are using them for trading activities under the guise of residential occupancy.
“What we have gathered here is that many of these houses around have been given to Chinese, and that’s what they do,” he noted.
“You see the houses as residential… but that is not it. They are selling,” he said, adding that more enforcement sweeps are planned. “We went to the next lane and found many of them there… we’ll come in very early and then deal with them.”
Meanwhile, the GRA says the landlords cannot escape accountability.
“It’s the owner not helping us… these are houses built by Ghanaians for residential purposes. So if somebody’s doing business and is supposed to pay taxes, once you take your rent and go to sleep, it’s not helping us.”
He warned that property owners and tenants at fault will face prosecution as part of a nationwide drive to increase tax compliance and boost revenue.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
