Commissioner-General calls for stronger tax cooperation to boost regional revenue mobilisation

The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, has called for stronger cooperation among African tax administrations to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation and support sustainable development.

He said governments across the sub-region were facing growing public financing needs and debt vulnerabilities amid increasing demands for infrastructure, social investment, climate adaptation, and digital transformation.

Mr Sarpong made the call at the opening of the 8th High-Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) in Accra.

The meeting, co-hosted by the GRA and WATAF, was on the theme "Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development."

Mr Sarponge said African countries needed to mobilise domestic resources fairly, efficiently, and sustainably to address their development financing challenges.

He said West Africa recorded real gross domestic product growth of 4.8 percent in 2025, with growth projected at 4.6 percent in 2026, but the region continued to face a significant development financing gap.

He urged tax administrations to broaden the tax base, formalise activities in the informal economy, improve the management of natural resource revenues, and strengthen information exchange among jurisdictions.

Mr Sarpong said effective tax systems were central to state capacity and the social contract between citizens and governments, adding that fair and trusted tax administration could promote development and enhance business confidence.

He called for greater deployment of technology, including e-filing, e-payment, digital invoicing, data analytics and artificial intelligence, to improve compliance, detect tax evasion and broaden the tax base.

The Commissioner-General also urged tax administrations to build strong institutions anchored in professionalism, meritocracy, integrity, accountability and transparency.

He said stronger collaboration, technological innovation and robust institutions were critical to improving revenue mobilisation across the region.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.