Rent income tax compliance in Ghana a case study of some selected Mmdas

Abstract

The overarching aim of this study was to find out the various factors that influence rent income tax compliance decisions of landlords/landladies in the Gomoa West, Gomoa East Districts and Ga-South Municipality. A sample of 360 landlords/landladies with a response rate of 342 (95%) was drawn from Gomoa East, Gomoa West Districts and Ga-South Municipality using a stratified random sampling technique. The study employed a descriptive and inferential research designs and a quantitative approach premised on the positivists paradigm to achieve its objectives. The results indicated that majority of the landlords/landladies do not have knowledge about the existence of rent income tax laws as majority of them indicated that there was no difference between the rent income tax and property tax. Institutional mechanisms laid down to encourage compliance was also assessed and it was revealed that a number of measures have been put in place to encourage compliance except that they yielded no positive results. It was also found that there is a culture of high non-compliance of rent income tax in the Gomoa West, Gomoa East Districts and Ga-South Municipality. It was further revealed that factors such as fairness in tax administration, deterrence sanctions, cost of living, peer influence and rent income tax knowledge are the major factors influencing rent income tax compliance. This is therefore a clarion call on government and tax authorities to intensify their game by embarking on massive rent income tax awareness and education campaigns, reviving confidence and trust in government, enforcing much harsher non-compliance punitive measures, and ensuring conscientization of the taxpayers to increase their intrinsic motivation to be able to honour their tax obligations.