The Anti-Revenue Leakages Special Monitoring Team of the Ghana Revenue Authority has declared war on importers and revenue collectors whose activities cause huge revenue losses to the state. Officials say the use of the country’s borders for illegal rice importation and un-customed vehicles threaten the stability of the economy. Apart from revenue loss to the state, illegal rice importation is said to be killing the local rice industry. Nhyira FM’s Ohemeng Tawiah reported meeting some officials of the monitoring team at Sampa, Osei Kwadwokrom and other towns along the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border where such activities that cause revenue losses are on the rise. The leader of the team, Thomas Mills, said whenever there was a case of revenue leakage, the importer is blamed, but those “who aid the importer to evade the duty is left off the hook.” He expressed regret that officers who have been paid to stop smuggling and tax evasion tend to be the very people who aid and abet the crime. In his opinion, “there is no way somebody can evade tax without the support of the tax collector.” The GRA is also worried that the Ashanti Region is fast becoming a revenue malpractice zone. The anti-revenue leakages team said the region and Kumasi in particular had become the hub for the offloading of cargo destined exclusively for the country’s landlocked neighbors and the illegal registration of un-customed vehicles. Source: Joy Business/Ghana