It noted that as much as citizens needed development projects in their communities, it behoved on them to pay their levies and rates to enable government to generate enough revenue for development.

Paying of their taxes therefore was vital to the building of a prosperous and self-reliant nation.

Mrs Judith Adomako-Ofosua, the Mfantseman Municipal Director of the Commission, gave the advice at a town hall meeting organised by the Anomabo Parish Justice for Peace Committee (PJPC) in collaboration with the Municipal Assembly at Abeadze Dominase on Wednesday.

She reiterated that: "Citizens in developed nations eagerly pay taxes that are often given to us in the form of loans and grants. Taxes are the lifeline for governments to construct roads, build hospitals and schools, among other social infrastructure that are used by citizens".

Consequently, she lauded the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for reactivating the TIN registration   processes, making it mandatory for every Ghanaian to acquire TIN or risk not being able to access essential services.

Mrs Adomako-Ofosua encouraged Ghanaians to take advantage of the free registration exercise to help address issues of tax evasion by individuals and companies and instances of taxpayers owning more than one tax certificate.

The GRA and other allied agencies were tasked with the responsibility of raking in revenue through taxes and other levies through innovative ways to rope more people into the tax net.

Therefore, people without the 11-digit TIN would soon be prevented from accessing services from institutions such as the Passport Office, the banks, the courts, the ports, the Ghana Immigration Services and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.

Others are the Lands Commission, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Registrar-General’s Department and other state agencies. She posited that with the introduction of the new policy, the GRA only seeks to fulfil its mandate, per the Revenue Administration Act (RAA) 2016 (Act 915), to set up a taxpayer identification numbering system for the purpose of identifying taxpayers and promoting tax compliance.

According to her, the announcement by the GRA may sound very grave because even professionals such as doctors, lawyers and surveyors cannot renew their licences without TIN and believed that all Ghanaians have to look at the bigger picture and join the tax net for more revenue generation for development.

The Municipal Director of the Commission urged government to make very judicious use of the increased funds that will be generated through the new policy on the TIN because, it was one of the key ways to encourage many people to pay their taxes correctly and promptly.

She called for extensive and sustained education on the new TIN policy to make more Ghanaians understand the benefits that will accrue to the country if everyone complied and also make more citizens willingly come on board.

She urged all to desist from colluding with tax collectors to short change the nation and reminded them that tax evasion was a serious crime, adding that, "We believe that the new policy will inure to the benefit of the country in terms of revenue generation".

Mrs Mary Nana Adwoa Mensah, an Official of the Planning Unit of the Assembly who represented the Municipal Chief Executive, said it should not be lost on anybody that paying their taxes was vital to the building of a prosperous and self-reliant nation. She said it was time people moved away from the practice, where they had to be chased to their workplaces by tax collectors, and voluntarily walk to the tax offices to honour their tax obligation.

They should accept to pay to the state whatever was due it, however, meagre it might be, she said.