The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, has urged the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to adopt a more persuasive approach rather than relying on intimidation in tax collection.

Members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) in the Ashanti Region expressed concerns in the past about what they perceive as ongoing discrimination and intimidation by officials of the Customs Division of the GRA.

Speaking at the National Sales Leaders Conference in Accra on Wednesday, August 14, the Deputy Minister called on the GRA to employ more strategic methods in its tax collection efforts.

“One of the board meetings that I attended at the Ghana Revenue Authority, I was sharing a view with the board members that it is high time the GRA as an institution moved away from enforcement to being part and parcel of the system.

“So that they can see the taxpayer as somebody who is important to government business so they have to pamper them and get the attention to get more. By that, we are sure we will be able to generate or get a lot of revenue for the state.”