Developing an Effective and Efficient Tax System in a Developing Economy - a Case Study of Ghana

Politics is the process in which negotiation and resistance is utilized to establish a stable society. In contrast, the current United States tax system fails to form such solid grounds. Without such a complex system, anarchy and chaos will overrule the goal of fairness that is favorable to people. Taxation is a branch of politics that is distorted in some ways in which it does not satisfy many people’s needs. Although a government is designed to run an organized society and meet the needs of citizens, it does not always do a great job. Many people feel that their place in the financial world grants them immunity from excessive taxes while others feel they are being hurt by such an unequal tax burden. The purpose of taxes is to benefit society as a whole and keep the government running, but it is not working properly and efficiently. People’s various situations make it difficult to implement the current tax system. Taxation has long been deliberated, and the issue holds many points, such as income, a person’s age, and where they live, these circumstances are unequal and unfair to many people.

George Ndemo Ochoti Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Department of Business Administration P.O. BOX 62000-00200 Nairobi. Kenya Dr. Elijah Maronga, EdD Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Department of Business Administration P.O. BOX 62000-00200 Nairobi. Kenya Dr. Stephen Muathe, PhD Kenyatta University School of Business P. O. BOX 43844-00100 Nairobi. Kenya Robert Nyamao Nyabwanga Kisii University College Department of Business Administration P.O.

Tax system is a legal system of imposing and collecting taxes from the citizens of the country. As it has been stated by Albert Einstein, the hardest task in the world is to understand the tax system of a country. The United States’ tax system is so complicated that its tax code contains almost 3 million words and 6,000 pages. Moreover, the taxes implied by city and state governments add more complexity to the federal taxation system. In this case, we do not need to understand the complexity of tax code system in order to get acquainted with the significant role of taxes in American society.

These weak macroeconomic fundamentals influenced the then government’s decision to implement a series of strenuous public policies; with the goal to place Ghana back on sound economic and social footing. I recall waking up one early morning to prepare for school. But I realized the “airwaves” were poised with anger. Most people in my neighborhood were glued to their radio sets, waiting impatiently on the government to confirm the rumors, circulating in the country about its decision to scrap the old tax policy and replace it with a new one; the Value Added Tax. Around midday, the government finally let the cat out of the bag and outlined in detail the various segments of the new tax policy. This policy mandates the government to impose taxes on consumer goods and services at all stages of production and distribution. Businesses can pass along a sizable percentage of the

Directorate General of Taxes (DGT), the main government body whose mission is to collect national tax revenue will always put a lot of effort to realize its annual tax target. In 2014, DGT has a target of 1.110 trillion rupiahs, 66% of the total national income of 1.600 trillion rupiahs – a slightly lower percentage compared to preceding periods. In order to reach the target, DGT has provided strategic plans to help meet the target. However, during the implementation of the plans, DGT has to deal with a few strategic challenges such as Transfer Pricing, tax avoidance and tax evasion where they will be such an obstacle of collecting tax revenue.

Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Department of Accounting Financial Accounting FRK 211 Exam session: Date: Duration: Total marks: Date of perusal: Internal examiners: 1st semester June 2012 8 June 2012 2 hours 80 marks 21 June 2012 Prof J E Myburgh Ms J S Goodey Ms N Pududu

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES, CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

Tax is any kind of requirement in the form of money or asset that is expected of an individual or a business entity by the governing authority. There are various types of taxations such as capital tax, individual tax and income tax among others (Simontacchi, 2007). The taxation issue has been a thorn to businesses and their owners, especially those who do international trade. This has affected the international businesses very much. As a result, the governments of those nations that allowed international trade decided to draft laws that regulate the issues of taxation.

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration (Business Management).

BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING, FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA, ABUJA, NIGERIA

A thorough examination of the current national taxation policy reveal that it is comprehensive when compared with earlier attempts at designing a policy. However, there are some perceived challenges that this draft is likely going to face because of the experiences of past taxation laws. These challenges are as follows:

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

A Research Proposal in Partial Fulfillment for the Bachelor of Business Administration of the Technical University of Mombasa

In almost all nations of the world today, taxes form the most important part of governments’ venue. The need for taxation the world over and particularly, the “Third World”, has become necessary; and will remain so with the increasing dependence of the citizenry on the central government for the provision of infrastructure and other necessaries of life. In Ghana, the central government provided and continues to make available such infrastructure as roads, portable water, rural and urban electrification, hospitals, schools and many others. In addition, the state provides defense for its people against external aggression and the maintenance of law and order.

A Research Project proposal submitted to Mount Kenya University in partial fulfillment of requirement for the degree of Masters in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance