The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has served notice it will be taxing street beggars as part of moves to widen the tax net.
The exercise will also target individuals, especially women selling Dubai Wax prints and other imports through door-to-door and neighboring nationals trading on bicycles in the Northern region.
The Principal Revenue Chief at the Small Tax Payer Office of the GRA in the Northern region Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed told journalists that some individuals occupying the streets are now harvesting a lot of daily earnings that fall within the tax threshold.
“Those who carry things on their heads to sell (hawkers) be it cloth or consumables, we will tax them, how much more people who earn daily,” the Revenue Officer said.
“GRA taxes foreigners in town and by law the beggars fall within the taxable threshold,” Alhaji Mohammed stressed, adding that those into alms taking as a form of business and a “hobby” should be ready to pay tax on their earnings.