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Our lawyers must lead by example in fulfilment of their tax obligations
Income tax refers to a type of tax that governments impose on income generated by businesses and individuals within their jurisdiction. By law, taxpayers are required to file an income tax return annually to determine their tax obligations. Simply put, income taxes are sources of revenue for government to fund public services and provide goods for the citizens.
Personal income tax is a type of income tax that is levied on an individual’s wages, salaries and other types of income while business income tax applies to corporations, partnerships, small businesses and people who are self-employed.
GRA AND INCOME TAX COLLECTION
In accordance with the Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896), the collection of these taxes falls within the jurisdiction of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). It is the agency that is mandated by law to collect taxes on all forms of income such as wages, salaries, commissions, investments and business earnings. These personal income taxes can help fund government programmes and services such as national security, roads, schools, provision of water and electricity among others.
To facilitate the collection of these taxes, a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) has been designed by the GRA to determine people who are qualified and liable to register and pay taxes to the state.
PAYMENT OF TAXES WORLDWIDE
All over the world, paying your taxes is considered a civic duty, although doing so is also a requirement of the law. If you do not pay your taxes, the government agency that oversees taxes, will require you to pay, failure of which will attract penalties such as fines or imprisonment. Nobody irrespective of your status in society is above the law in this regard. Whether you are a lawyer, medical doctor, engineer, etc. you have to fulfil your civic obligation of paying tax.
Under the tax law, it is the employer’s responsibility to file a monthly tax returns on behalf of its employee. The employer is required to withhold the employee’s taxes to pay to the tax agency. Taxes withheld, must be filed and payment made by 15th of the month following the month in which these taxes are withheld. Additionally, the employer, shall not later than 30th April following the end of every year of assessment, furnish an Employer’s Annual Tax Deduction Schedule which shall specify tax withheld in respect of each employee. The return is required to outline salaries paid to each employee, exemptions, tax reliefs, chargeable income tax due and tax paid.
PROFESSIONAL BODIES AND THEIR TAX OBLIGATIONS
It is worthy to note that these obligations under the law apply to countries worldwide including our own country, Ghana, and our professional bodies are quite familiar with the provisions under the Act. It is, therefore, surprising to hear that about 6,000 lawyers in the country are not filing their income tax. Besides, many doctors and over 60, 000 business people have been evading tax of which the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is fully aware and has a reliable data on them.
PRESIDENT LASHES AT LAWYERS FOR FAILURE TO PAY TAXES
This revelation came to light recently when the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressed the Ghana Bar Association’s 2021 conference at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. He described the failure of some lawyers in the country to pay their taxes as embarrassing.
“It is embarrassing that lawyers are often on top of the list of those who flout our tax laws and use their expertise to avoid paying taxes. They appear to think that being members of the learned profession puts them above compliance with everyday duties like paying taxes,” the President said, adding that “they will soon be receiving friendly calls from the tax authority. I sincerely hope that those involved will swiftly move to regularise their tax affairs before the GRA moves to crack the whip”.
It is a shame that lawyers who parade as learned professionals should abandon their civic responsibility of payment of taxes on their earnings. This unhealthy situation would have been kept under the carpet if the president had not highlighted the issue at the GBA conference.
APPLYING THE NECESSARY SANCTIONS AGAINST DEFAULTING LAWYERS
The GRA needs to calculate the amount involved on individual basis and apply the necessary sanctions, especially payment of interests on the amount to serve as a deterrent to others. Similarly, other professionals such as the doctors who have defaulted in the payment of their income taxes must also face similar consequences. If an ordinary worker defaults in the payment of income tax, the GRA will be on the neck of that fellow. Besides, officials from the GRA have been moving from shop to shop as well as other small scale businesses closing them for failure to honour their tax obligations and applying sanctions. What type of country is this, in which the laws are rigidly applied to certain group of people and individuals while others are let off the hook? That is interesting and amazing!
GRA OUGHT TO BE BLAMED FOR THESE INCOME TAX SHORTFALLS
The Ghana Revenue Authority must take the blame for its failure to act when it first discovered this anomaly in spite of all the facilities it has including the PIN numbers of the defaulters and to allow the numbers to increase to this magnitude. What then is the essence of acquiring these TIN numbers which people have to struggle to get from the GRA?
It is a fact that if we continue to behave in this way where those who are qualified to pay taxes that are ‘badly’ needed to develop this country are shying away from that obligation, our country will never witness any progress in its development. The question that many Ghanaians will be asking is that; Do these defaulting lawyers have the morality to defend people who have defaulted in their obligations, when they themselves, are the worst offenders? This negative behaviour on the part of these lawyers and other professionals can be one of the corrupt practices we have been experiencing in this country which we must deal with as a nation. It is not only when you dip your hands into state coffers and steal funds meant for development that makes you corrupt but also, the failure to fulfil your tax obligation as required by law.
LATE FORMER PRESIDENT PROFESSOR MILLS’ OBSERVATION
The situation as it stands now will make one to suspect that some officials within the tax collection agencies have been colluding with people in influential positions to evade taxes thereby denying the state money needed to carry out development projects in this country. The late former president John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory, saw what happened years back when he paid an unannounced visit to the CEPS offices and spoke vehemently against the practice. He saw a situation in which young personnel who had gained employment to these tax collection institutions had become millionaires overnight and acquired huge mansions and expensive vehicles through some of these dubious and obnoxious practices at the expense of the state.
WE NEED THESE TAXES TO BUILD THE NATION
This country needs to develop to an appreciable level and it is some of these taxes that can be used to carry out this agenda. Therefore, we need to be stringent and meticulous in the collection of our legitimate taxes to prosecute this ambitious development. The IRS and other tax collection bodies in the country need to rise up to the challenge of raking in the needed revenue for the state. Our professional bodies must also encourage their members to pay their legitimate taxes to the state. Anything short of that is an affront to our democratic advancement.
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By Charles Neequaye
Walk into any supermarket in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale today, and you will see the modern Ghanaian diet packaged as ‘progress.’ You will see breakfast cereals with cartoon mascots, fruit drinks that are mostly sugar and colour, and snacks promising energy and happiness in bright fonts.
Even products loaded with salt and unhealthy fats often wear a health halo labeled as fortified or natural, while the real nutritional risk is hidden in tiny print on the back. This is not just a consumer inconvenience; it is a public health blind spot. Ghana is living through a silent surge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.
These conditions quietly drain household income and steal productive years. According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, NCDs are now responsible for nearly 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
We cannot build a healthy nation on a food environment designed to confuse people at the point of purchase. Ghana must mandate simple front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWL) on high-sugar, high-salt, and high-fat packaged foods because consumers deserve truth at a glance, and industry must be pushed to reformulate.
Why Back-of-Pack Labels Are Not Enough
In theory, consumers can read nutrition panels. In reality, most Ghanaians shop under pressure, limited time, rising prices, and children tugging at their sleeves. The back label is a relic that requires a high cognitive load to interpret—essentially, the seller knows what is inside, but the buyer cannot easily tell.
This ‘information asymmetry’ is not fair. It is not consumer choice when the information needed to choose well is deliberately difficult to find.
Simple warning labels like the black octagons used in the Chilean Model act as a ‘stop-and-think’ nudge. They do not ban products but they simply tell the truth so people can decide.
Reshaping Our Food Environment
A generation ago, Ghana’s meals were mostly home-prepared, like kenkey and banku with soups and stews. Today, ultra-processed foods have become the norm, especially in urban areas. Children are growing up with sugary drinks and salty snacks as everyday items, not occasional treats.
If Ghana is serious about prevention, we must act where decisions are made—thus, the shelf. Warning labels protect parents from sugar traps and pressure the market to improve. When warning labels are mandatory, manufacturers start to compete to make healthier recipes to avoid the stigma of the label.
Addressing the Pushback
Industry will argue that labels create fear or that education alone is enough. However, health education is slow; labels work immediately. While the informal street food sector is a challenge, regulating pre-packaged goods is the practical starting point because the supply chain is traceable. We cannot wait until the whole system is perfect; we must start where action is feasible.
A 2026 Implementation Roadmap for Ghana
To move from talk to action, Ghana needs this 5-step plan:
- Issue mandatory regulation: The Ministry of Health, Food and Drug Authority (FDA), and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) must define the label format and nutrient thresholds for all pre-packaged foods.
- Simple, bold symbols: Use plain language and clear symbols, such as “HIGH IN SUGAR,” designed for busy families, not experts.
- Transparent thresholds: Adopt technically defensible standards adapted to the Ghanaian diet.
- Transition and enforce: Provide a 12–18 month period for manufacturers to reformulate, followed by firm enforcement at ports and retail centers.
- National literacy campaign: The Ghana Health Service must pair labels with public messages explaining why high salt or sugar increases disease risk.
Conclusion: Truth Is Not a Luxury
Prevention is cheaper than treatment. A warning label costs little compared to the price of dialysis, stroke rehabilitation, or lifelong diabetes complications. A black octagon on a box of biscuits is more than a label; it is a shield for the health of all Ghanaians. It is time to put the truth where we can see it, right on the front.
By Abigail Amoah Sarfo
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Natives of the Kenkey Kingdom were mad with joy. They were still recovering from the hangover of the kingdom’s loss of the African Cup when their spirits were rekindled. Their great warrior, Zoom Zoom, stormed Melbourne and made sure that every Australian refused food. And that was after he had drawn contour lines on the face of their idol, Jeff Fenech.
Not only did the terrible warrior transform Old Boy Jeff’s face into a contour map useful for geography lessons, but he also accomplished the feat of retaining the much-envied super-kenkeyweight title against all odds. The warrior had not been eating hot kenkey for nothing.
The Fight Against Fenech
When Jeff Fenech bit the dust in the eighth round, I was tempted to consider if Adanko Deka could not have faced him in any twelve-rounder, title or non-title bout. Adanko has improved tremendously, and soon he would be facing Pernell Whitaker.
Sincerely, I was pessimistic about Azumah’s man, who the last time took him through twelve grueling rounds of rough boxing. I expressed my fears to my colleague Christian Abbew, alias Gbonyo, who surprisingly had total confidence that the Australian brawler would fall, predictably in Round Five.
Gbonyo gave reasons for his contention, all of which I counteracted using the age factor. Fact is, I didn’t know that contrary to the laws of nature, Azumah was all the time growing younger.
When Fenech fell briefly in round one, I asked my brother whether it was the same Fenech that fought Azumah in Las Vegas. Sure, it was the same Fenech, all out to beat Azumah before his countrymen.
But the African Professor had no intention of making the Australian a hero. As he spun round the desperate Aussie, dancing and stinging out his jabs, it was not too long before I realized that the end was near.
The Eighth Round Showdown
Two minutes into the eighth round, the African ring-master proved to the whole world that he was a true son of Bukom. He himself was cornered, but like the tough nut he is, he managed to break free before overwhelming the panting Australian with several blows that made him crash headlong.
Moments after, the referee, expressing fatherly sympathy, stopped the fight to prevent an obituary. After the ordeal, Fenech’s fairly handsome face was full of newly constructed hills, valleys, ox-bow lakes—whatever. I noticed that his nose was very tired and had a miniature volcano sitting restlessly on it. Obviously, Jeff’s wife will have to nurse that nose back to its normal shape—but I’d advise her not to use iodine, otherwise her dear husband will wail like a banshee.
Reflections on Boxing
Because Mohammed Ali was the kind of boxer kids liked, many school-going kids often entertained the wish of becoming like him. I remember one day when I told my father I wanted to become a boxer, and he advised me to first complete my education to the highest level. Then, if I decided to become a boxer and was knocked out a couple of times, I’d fall back on my degrees and make a living.
Boxing used to be interesting when bouts were fought more with the mouth and tongue than with gloves. You had to brag well, psychologically belittling your opponent before beating him up physically. Mohammed Ali became a very successful pugilist because he also managed to become a poet. He often blew his horn across America, calling himself the “pretty boxer” and opponents like Joe Frazier “the gorilla.”
Ali made a living fighting hard fists like Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Jerry Quarry, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, and Trevor Berbick. Twice he came back from retirement to fight just for money. It was Larry Holmes who finally pensioned him, and since then the great Ali has never been himself.
The Path Ahead for Azumah
When Azumah nailed Jeff Fenech on the cross and barked almost immediately that he was after the head of Pernell Whitaker, I was happy but concerned. I would have been happier if he had announced his resignation there and then—he would have been more of a hero. Beating Fenech in Australia is more newsworthy than facing Whitaker in the States.
With Whitaker, it might be a little difficult. The “Sweet Pea” is agile, has a crooked body like a snake with diarrhea, and stands awkwardly as a southpaw. He is known for having the fastest pair of fists and the rare ability to dodge punches no matter how close they may be.
Much as I do not doubt that Azumah can take his title, I also don’t want him to retire beaten. I want him to retire as a hero and live a fuller, healthy life.
As Azumah himself said after dishing Fenech, he is now a professor and has something to show for it. Like a true professor, I think it is time he resigned and took up training young talents who could draw inspiration from him and become like him in the future.
Closing Thoughts
I must say that although ageing boxers like Larry Holmes and George Foreman are making a name for themselves, boxing is not like the Civil Service, where you can even change your age and retire at 74. Zoom Zoom has delighted the hearts of the natives, and Sikaman will forever hold him in high esteem—but only when he retires as a hero.
This article was first published on Saturday, March 7, 1992.
