Business Owner Participation in the Pathways to Tax Compliance Formalization Program
The Pathways to Formalization Strategy is a new program, created by She Grows It, the Ghana Inclusive Development Research Network (GIDRN), and Fluid that empowers Ghana’s business owners to address tax compliance via formalization.
The Program partners with individual and family-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises to help grow Ghana Beyond Aid. More specifically, the Program exposes, engages, educates, empowers, and employs business owners to implement management procedures, data collection standards, and fiscal accounting practices that result in increased formalization and tax compliance. The program provides business owners with opportunities to explore new revenue streams via greater business efficiency that help grow their enterprise within their prospective industry and sector. In addition, the Program helps business owners transition to long-term sustainable business management, administration, and better overall accountability via increased transaction transparency.
ENROLLMENT OPEN TO BUSINESS OWNERS IN GHANA
The Pathways to Formalization Program is currently enrolling business owners in select Regions in Ghana who are eligible based on their business’ size and an identified industry.
If you are a business owner in Ghana and are interested in participating in the Pathways to Formalization Program, please visit our business owner portal to see if your business is eligible.
The Program offers business owners 5-year contracts, with resources and funding to participate in a 2-phase program:
Growing Formal Businesses - The Growing Formal Businesses Educational Program promotes the growth of formal, higher-valued businesses by reducing informal practices over a 5 -year contract period, in line with the business owners’ growth, impact, and evolution plan. This practice will not prevent business owners from operating informally but is intended to increase industry formality by educating business owners on appropriate community and agency standards and practices.
Enhancing Future Businesses – The Enhancing Future Business Payment Plan Program promotes a 5-year plan for successful businesses who complete the Educational Program. This Program helps business owners calculate and acknowledge the business’ full tax burden, pay a percentage of the acknowledged tax burden incrementally over time, and reach full and sustained compliance after year 5.
Enrolled business owners will be monitored to ensure that they are implementing the practices in accordance with their contract. The compliance rates will be evaluated based on the changes in tax mobilization levels of enrolled businesses, compared to businesses that are not enrolled in the Program (and likely not implementing these practices). In other words, the Program will be measuring the performance of the business’s practices. Measurements will be taken on a random selection of enrolled businesses and compared to measurements on un-enrolled businesses with similar business attributes, then aggregated at the industry level to determine the formal sector growth. The compliance measurements will be verified by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Meet Dr. Ashley Milton, Founder and CEO of She Grows It, as she discusses the challenges of business formalization in the Ghanaian business ecosystem and the impacts it has on tax compliance.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ON FORMALIZATION AND TAXATION
Interested in receiving updates on the Pathways to Formalization Program, such as when the program will be available in your Region or Industry? Interested in receiving other information related to formalization and taxation? Sign up to receive SGI’s monthly e-newsletter that includes program progress, business owner research, and more.
SGI IS GRATEFUL FOR THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE PATHWAYS FORMALIZATION PROGRAM PARTNERS
