The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG) Bill has been laid before Parliament to give the Institute a legal mandate to regulate the practice of taxation in Ghana.
The Bill when passed into law will make the Institute national tax regulator with authority to regulate the practice and administration of taxation in the country.
Before the Bill was laid on the floor of Parliament, the Committee that is in charge of education in Parliament received a petition from another professional body known as the Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants (CICTA) which sought to question the basis for making the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana, the national tax regulator.
In its petition, the Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants stated that it had also obtained its full registration on July 2012 under the Professional Body Decree 1973, and that since the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana is also a professional body just like them (Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants) it would be unfair and against the principle of freedom of association to allow the latter to assume the position of a national tax regulator.
The Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants’ petition views clause 19 of the Bill as discriminatory, since it prohibits individuals or members of other professional bodies from practicing as tax professional unless they are members of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana.
The petition therefore advocated for the creation of an independent institution to regulate the practice of taxation in the country.
In a reply to the Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants, the Parliamentary Committee on Education said it took into consideration the position of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) in respect of the accreditation status of their institute.
The Committee said the NAB has subsequently issued a statement to the effect that the CICTA, Ghana does not have legal mandate to award any academic or professional qualifications which may be accepted for purposes of academic/professional placements.
According to the Committee, the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana has the requisite expertise in the field of taxation, and possesses the structures to regulate the professional and ethical standards of tax practitioners.
In addition, they said the Bill when passed will position the Institute to play a more significant role in its field of operation.
But the Committee observed that in spite of the significant contribution of CITG to the development of taxation in the country, it lacks the requisite mandate accorded sister institutes in other countries such as Nigeria to regulate the practice of taxation.
The Committee noted in particular that the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Nigeria is backed by Act No. 76, 1992 — making it the only professional body with the authority to regulate the practice and administration of taxation in the country.
This regulatory framework, it said, has contributed in streamlining the practice of taxation in Nigeria.