The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning will launch the Ghana Revenue Authority formally on Friday 15 January. The authority will see the integration of the three revenue agencies: IRS, VAT and CEPS under one umbrella, with one head called the Commissioner General. Government believes the integration will make them more efficient and cut out tasks which are presently duplicated. Though the authority will be formally introduced today, a number of reforms would have to take place within the next 24 months before a fully integrated authority materialises. Deputy Finance Minister Seth Tekper said the programme will “transform manual systems into electronic platforms.” Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is promising to step up revenue from rent income taxes this year. The tax, which is eight percent of rent income earned by landlords, went up by 100 percent after it was re-launched in the later part of last year. The IRS Commissioner Major Dan Ablorh Quarcoo told Joy Business the service is hoping to rope in more revenue for the state as it plans to extend the tax to other areas. Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana