Knowledge and attitudes of operators of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality towards taxation

Abstract

A former South African Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel stated that the obligation to pay one’s fair share of taxes as and when they fall due is part of the new morality which democratic governance must inculcate in every South African. He accepted that tax evasion and fraud are among the most insidious forms of criminality that plague the South African society and that millions of Rand are diverted every day from the fiscus by tax criminals (Oberholzer 2008). Limited research on taxpayers’ knowledge and attitudes of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has been conducted in Ghana. This research reports the results of a study carried out amongst Non-Governmental Organisations in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality by means of interviews and questionnaires. This study employed a cross-sectional survey to obtain data from respondents. Eighty members of staff of NGOs and twenty eight members of staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) were sampled for the study. The stratified sampling technique was used in the study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. This research is important because it will assist government to raise the much needed revenue for development, it will assist government to cut down deficit financing and provide a blue print for effectively taxing NGOs. Among the study’s objectives were to: assess the knowledge of NGOs of their tax obligations; Two sets of questionnaire were used to solicit the views of sampled NGOs and officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Among findings of study were that: most NGOs have poor knowledge and understanding of their tax obligations; and that no programme exists for sensitizing NGOs on their rights and obligations.