The Chief Revenue Officer of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Dominic Naab has disclosed that persons in the creative industry will be taxed based on their lifestyles.
He made the statement on Friday November 23 at the Accra Tourism Information Center during a Tax Sensitization workshop.
According to Mr. Naab, celebrities all over the world are taxed based on their lifestyles and the same formula will be applied here in Ghana.
“The GRA will see to it that persons in the creative arts pay their tax because they earn a lot and live expensive lifestyles” he said.
He explained that actors or persons in the creative industry need to come to the offices of GRA and explain for example if they are given gifts in the form of a car, a house or anything valuable.
“We tax based on the expensive cars the creative people drive so the onus lies on them to explain to us that the cars or the expensive lifestyle are all sponsored by other people” he said.
Mr Naab’s statement did not go down with actors Gloria Osei Sarfo, Beverly Afaglo, Bob Smith among other creative persons who were present at the workshop.
For Bob Smith, the creative arts industry is not vibrant enough to be paying tax. “Some of us have not shot movies in a long while. So how do you expect someone like me to pay tax? I think more explanations have to be done” he said.
Actress Beverly Afaglo was of the view that the whole taxation process has to be explained well for the understanding of every artiste or anyone in the creative arts.
“I personally disagree with how GRA wants the creative arts people to pay tax. Some of the creative people have well to do families who support them and GRA can’t tax them because they live expensive lifestyles.
Displaying your expensive lifestyle is not enough to tax us” she stated.
Rex Omar, Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) said if the system works well elsewhere then creative people will have to oblige. "But as it stands now, explanations have not gone down well on why we should pay tax".
Other persons in the creative industry who attended the workshop were actors Adjetey Annang, Paa George, Yvonne Nelson, Jackie Appiah, Van Vicker, Nana Ama McBrown, Gloria Osei Sarfo, movie producer Abdul Salam Mumuni among other personalities.
Source: graphic.com.gh
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So these celebrities dont want to pay tax but yet have the audacity to complain and campaign against bad roads and poor economy...Imagine some celebrities whose kids are enjoying free shs and yet dont want to pay tax?? Does this even make sense to them? there should be policies to tax these celebrities especially when they are awarded contracts...Companies that award them contracts should deduct thier tax from them. You dont want to pay tax but the kayoyo and our mothers in the market should pay so enjoy...Greedy Folks...You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Am 18 years and cant believe this is coming from people i call role models...smh
Not paying tax at all is not good. But I think people should pay tax by how they earn not how they spend. Even if taxes will be placed on some every expensive cars then this should affect the politician or any other who own such cars. The fact that other countries are practising it doesn't make it right.
Shatta Wale please come and have your stone,music prophet.
Can you imaging people like this calling themselves Tax officials.Aaaahhhh how do you speak you are jealous of the celebrity. Pure Ghanaian Attitude. The Celebrity being it a musician or an Actress is already breaking down with time because of lack of proper structures to support their craft and you are here talking about their lifestyle aaaaahhhh. Are you serious? Am sure this will be the end of this government. Will campaign massively against their re-election for 2020. This guys are already paying a lot of direct and indirect taxes. When the musician or actor organises any gate proceed event this GRA or whatever they are called taxes them on ticket sold without necessarily thinking of their production cost therefore making them loose at the expense of their investments. have you thought about this MR GRA official. Even those taxes you cheat us and take from our Event you guys don't even account for them. When we sell our CDs and all you guys syphons taxes from the poor creative art people and you still have the guts to spew stuff like this....Lifestyle indeed. Am even happy you guys are being treated like this under this government .You follow your stomach and go endorse politicians who don't care about how they will help build proper structures to support the creative Arts all this years. They talk and do nothing and now all they think is come raid the little people who appreciate our works gives us. Am really angry about this whole stuff. They ready budget and the creative industry is the least considered aaaaahhhh. I sincerely think this so called officials is just jealous for nothing. I very good example of a typical Ghanaian jealous and hypocritical attitude. If the celebrity buys a car doesn't her pay taxes for the car he buys or if he buys a house or even build one doesn't he pay property taxes .***barred word*** hole people.
Some of you making comments over here are too ignorantt to understand that no Ghanaian should pay tax. We have too much to be paying taxes on every single thing in this country. Ghanaians pay more than 200 deferent taxes every year more is added and life continues to be deficult for the majority of the people. All our resources from gold, timber, oil, bauxite, manganese, diamond even the fish in our Waters are being shipped out and we are still paying taxes on every thing. My trillion dollar question is, where is the trillions of dollars these resources are worth? Mind you, all the resources we have including the ones I did not mention are in high demand and no one has ever said that Ghana's oil or gold or cocoa was not being purchased. If what we have here is far more than what the people of Dubai have how come we are being asked to pay more taxes on yearly basis? How come the people of Dubai with just oil are not paying taxe. We have 2 million times of whatever the people of Dubai have.
Government of ghana gives $5 billion dollars tax exemptions to foreigners every year and the same government is chasing the Ghanaian for more taxes. If this was a riddle what would we be? Lifestyles of wearing second hand clothes and driving second hand cars? Is it the laborrow you motherforckers are going to tax? Krazy Baldheadss! When you were in opposition taxe was a nuisanss.
Now you are running away from taxes? If you rent and house or uses a friend car for your work, those properties are in their name. Why cry? You earn huge and spend it stupi%$dly! You will pay tax for sure on your earnings! TAX THEM! Those who will not pay must go to JAIL! It is done elsewhere, even so-called big footballers and Hollywood people.
This is unfortunate, a teacher pay tax, my mom in the market also pays tax. I stand to be corrected people selling on the street pay tax. please they must pay tax or else we will hit the street for unfair treatment. They drive cars and buy houses or rent houses teachers, market women and hawkers cannot afford in their life time yet they don't want to pay tax, shame on them
I don't get it....you just go to the person and say because you a living such a lifestyle pay tax. Are we serious as a country. Some celeb are having companies and I guess those companies are registered. Another thing the government can to is to encourage movie or music producers association and ask them to take certain percentage from the contract amount between them and celeb, other than that they should forget it. Tax them based on their lifestyle is neither here nor there. Some celeb are simply fake, they don't have cobo.
Government of Ghana is not serious at all. Why should people like these be evading taxes?