The merger between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service, which would lead to the formation of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has taken off. IRS and VAT would therefore be renamed the GRA to create a single domestic tax organization and to consolidate the management of direct and indirect taxes in the country. The Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS) would be retained as a second operational arm of GRA. BUSINESS GUIDE gathers that President Mills would appoint a Commissioner-General before June this year to supervise the activities of the two institutions. Currently, a modern edifice to house the head quarters of the GRA is ongoing at the Ridge enclave of Accra near the ARB Bank head office. Though the paper gathers that no staff would lose his or her job, but some of them are anxious because there could be demotion. Sources told BUSINESS GUIDE that most of the staff would be re-assigned. In January this year a sensitization programme was held for management staff of the revenue agencies to initiate the process. According to Samuel Sallas Mensah, out-going Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), the move is to reform and revitalize the country’s public financial management system to improve the budget and financial accounting processes. Already, the government and its development partners (World Bank and GTZ) have pledged $104 million for the establishment and operation of the GRA. The move, according to the initiators, would change the environment of the three revenue agencies. Indeed, the goal is to utilize technology significantly, under the e-Government project to reduce costs and enforce the law efficiently. The GRA Act, 2009 (Act 791) received Presidential assent on December 31 2009. The Commissioner-General would preside over three subordinate commissioners who would manage domestic tax, customs and support services. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa currently operate a tax reform similar to that of the GRA. Integration, functional administration and segmentation are essential to enhancing the revenue system in Ghana. Source: Business Guide