The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, has assured that cryptocurrency traders in Ghana cannot evade taxes, as the authority prepares to deploy new technology to track gains from digital assets.
“One interesting area is crypto. The crypto market is evolving and growing very well. Today, people dealing with cryptocurrency are making money. Our laws are catching up, and we are working with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bank of Ghana to bring regulation. But in terms of tax laws, if you make a profit or gain, you’re supposed to pay that,” he said on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition.
Mr. Sarpong explained that the GRA is developing systems that will capture digital transactions.
“So today, the technology we are going to deploy will be able to bring all crypto accounts into focus, and then we will work with these individuals to ensure they are brought into the tax net,” he said.
He emphasized that the broader objective is to align Ghana’s tax system with the growing digital economy.
“Digitisation and the digital economy are here to stay. The taxpayer of the future is digital. That’s why GRA is preparing to be digitally ready today and in the future, so we can continue delivering on our mandate of revenue mobilization,” he added.
Mr. Sarpong noted that the focus on crypto is part of a wider strategy to close loopholes in online transactions and ensure compliance with existing tax laws.
“Online business tax rules already exist, for example, VAT. If you pay in a physical shop, you pay VAT; the same applies online. Using technology, we will access VAT and tax at the point of payment, so challenges of tracing online transactions will be eliminated. We believe by September, we will deploy this technology, run a pilot by year-end, and scale it up,” he explained.
He stressed that the government’s policy is not to introduce new taxes but to enforce existing ones more effectively.
“The policy of President Mahama and the Finance Minister is to avoid introducing excessive new taxes. Our existing tax laws have sufficient measures that, once implemented, will help deepen and expand the tax net,” he said.
Source: Abubakar Ibrahim
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