Kete-Krachi — The Krachi-West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Emmanuel Kajal Jalula, has called on residents in the municipality to pay their taxes regularly, to enable the Assembly to carry out needed development projects.
Paying taxes, he said was a civic responsibility through which government generated funds to run the affairs of state, hence it was important that every citizen lived up to that civic duty.
The MCE, who made the call during tax education campaign, at the Municipal Capital Kete-Krachiin the Oti Region over the weekend, said it was important for residents in the area to appreciate the fact that development at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) could become possible through payment of tax for development.
Mr Jalula, observed that it was becoming increasingly clear that relevant development projects, would elude the people if Assemblies largely regarded the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) as a major source of funds that could be used to bring development to the people, because it was inadequate.
According to the MCE, the Krachi- West Municipal Assembly had put in place measures to improve and expand the tax net, to enable the Assembly to mobilise enough revenue to execute development projects to improve the living standards of the people.
He said, as part of the strategies adopted to enhance revenue at the Assembly, cattle farmers were also being educated to pay tax as well as property owners, saying property rate was an important area that could enable the Assembly to increase its revenue base, but had been neglected over the years.
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He said since he took over as the MCE for the past one year, the Assembly had decided to educate people on the importance of property rate and the general need for people to honour their tax obligations.
Mr Jalula said many of the property owners, started appreciating the need for them to pay property rate, stressing that when property owners paid taxes, they would have the moral right to demand support from the government whenever disaster occurred.
He announced that the Assembly had also embarked on recruitment exercise , to engage tax collectors, who would be paid on commission bases, and said since the recruitment started four months ago, the Assembly had collected GH¢ 4,260 on market days at the major markets namely, the Kete-Krachi market, Ehiamankyene, Ntewusu and Bomondene.
The MCE, who was satisfied with the level of acceptance since the Assembly started the tax education campaign, said the GH¢ 4,260 collected on market days in the municipality was over 100 per cent improvement over the previous GH¢ 1,200 collected on market days.
A business woman, Mrs Felicia Anto, said there was the need for the Assembly to provide additional market stores and sheds in the various markets in the municipality because many traders did not have either stores or sheds to transact businesses on market days, and had to be in the sun.
