President John Mahama has defended the tax policy of his government when he took his turn on the evening encounter on the State broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Wednesday.

With a huge informal sector concerns have been raised about the tax burden on the few citizens in the formal sector who are said to be around 2 million people.

Answering a question on what government is doing to expand the tax net, the president said the policy on taxes is that "if the cost of collecting the tax is higher than the revenue you get, you leave it."

With the apparent difficulty in collecting taxes from the informal sector, the president said his government is putting in place initiatives that will rope in businesses in the informal sector into the formal economy.

The John Mahama led administration has been criticised heavily for the number of taxes imposed during his four year tenure.

A number of taxes including an additional 2.5% increase in Value Added Tax, taxes on financial services , machetes, condoms have been introduced as part of efforts by government to raise revenue for development projects.

But some business owners have been wailing under what they described as the unfriendly tax regime under the Mahama led administration.

The president said business owners have now been asked to show their social security numbers before they are deemed to qualify to bid for a government contract all in an attempt to rope them into the formal sector

He also charged Ghanaians to file their returns in order for the state to discover their true worth and tax appropriately.

The president condemned what he said are dubious charges at the ports, something his government is fighting strenuously to stop.