A Tax Consultant, Francis Timore Boi has urged government to use the 2023 Budget to pursue a policy that will centralize the collection of property tax and empower the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to collect the levy on behalf of government.

He stated that property tax is one of the surest ways government can improve revenue collection without introducing new taxes.

Speaking to Joy Business on his expectations ahead of the 2023 Budget Presentation, Timore Boi proposed that the collection of property tax should be handed over to the GRA since the assemblies have proved incapable of doing it.

“Property tax has been on the table for a very long time. When are we going to see proper measures put in place, possibly if we have to take the Property Taxation from the local assemblies and possibly centralize it and give it the GRA as another tax type, maybe the GRA will do better”, he expressed optimism.

Mr. Timore Boi is of the view that the GRA has the capacity to value properties and assign the right taxes to them to help increase revenue.

Citing developed countries as good examples, he pointed out that property owners should have the ability to pay the state since properties are expected to be protected by the state.

He added that such a policy will help government estimate proceeds from property tax accurately.

Mr. Timore Boi also maintained that such a tax handle will not be rejected by the populace since valuation will determine the rate.