The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTDA) has on Wednesday 7th December 2022 commenced a two-day conference with the theme: “Improving tax policy and administration in lower-income countries through collaborative research and engagement” at the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Conference Hall.
Making his opening remarks, the Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority (NRA), Dr. Samuel Jibao, underscored the importance of such a conference adding that NRA is established to principally mobilise Domestic Revenue thereby introducing better taxation and not necessarily more taxation.
He furthered that “through efficency gains, NRA can recover many revenue drive so as to have better taxation and better tax administration as a nation.”
While highlighting some of the gains so far recorded by NRA which includes progressive and accountable Revenue Generation and Mobilisation, the NRA Commissioner General noted that as the nation’s Revenue Institution, they are planning to establish Revenue Court as well as implementing what he could refer to as ‘the mobile application process’ with a view to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in their business of generating and mobilising national revenue among others.
In an attempt to comment on some of the issues earlier discussed, Civil Society Activist, Marcella Samba Sesay, submitted that the ultimate essence of such engagement and dialogue by stakeholders concerned, it should be about how citizens directly benefit from the dividends of governance through by its revenue mobilisation and generation moving forward as a nation, adding that anything contrary to that will be considered or regarded of no significance at the end of the day.
However, a representative from the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Yakama Jones (RDD, MoF), officially declared the conference open while a number of presentations were subsequently done by various speakers on Revenue potential and performance, Tax and equity, customs, excise taxes and tax administration and taxpayer engagement.
The conference is to be continued today Thursday 8th December 2022.
