Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is rolling out a Unified Digital Property Platform for the purposes of property taxation.
He announced via a social media post on Monday, February 14, 2023, that the policy which has led to the identification of over 7 million unique properties has been the result of government’s investment in digitalisation.
“One of the problems Ghana has faced in the area of revenue generation since independence is that only about 9% of properties in Ghana pay property taxes. This is because we have not had a database of properties, the owners and their addresses. As a result, many property owners do not even receive bills for property taxes although they are willing to pay.
“Thanks to the implementation of the Digital Property Address System, the Ghanacard, and Mobile Money Interoperability, and after three years of painstaking work, Government has been able to put in place a Unified digital platform for property taxation which the Ghana Revenue Authority is now rolling out together with the Municipal and District Assemblies.
“The Unified Digital Platform for Property Taxation includes the list and details of over 7 million properties, uniquely identified by their addresses. This is a historic innovation for Ghana,” the statement shared by Dr Bawumia said.
He noted the Digital Property Address System as a platform will among other things offer assemblies, tax authorities and property owners the convenience of paying and collecting Property Taxes with ease.
He further underscored that the policy will lead to a significant increase in government revenue.
“On this digital platform, property owners can verify their property rates and pay same and receive receipts online. Also, the GRA and MMDAs can see, in real-time, which properties have or have not paid their property taxes. This unified digital platform will significantly increase property rate collection and revenues.
“The Unified Property Rate Platform can be accessed at www.myassembly.gov.gh and I encourage you to visit, login and explore the site,” the statement said.
In late 2022, President Akufo-Addo in a nationwide broadcast on various measures being undertaken to increase revenue generated to the state, announced that the government is looking at taxation on properties as a viable revenue generation measure.