Fiifi Coleman, a renowned playwright, recently shared his experience with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), revealing that they threatened to shut down one of his productions due to unpaid taxes.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz 103.9 FM, he described how just before going on stage, he received a call from GRA officials demanding he come to sign a letter. “I said, ‘I’m not available to come. So how do we handle this?’ They said they would call the police to stop the show because I owed them,” he recalled.
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While Coleman acknowledges the importance of paying taxes, he criticized the GRA’s approach, especially the timing of their demands. He also pointed out the disparity in tax treatment, revealing that some individuals are allowed to negotiate flat rates with the GRA. “I just found out that you can actually negotiate with them and pay a flat amount, which is what some learned people do, but they didn’t teach us that way,” Coleman said. He also added that key people don’t face the same scrutiny, as “the GRA officials don’t even come to the events.”
To prevent such situations in the future, Coleman proposed a more flexible tax system. He suggested that taxes should be assessed annually based on multiple events rather than immediately after each show. “If I don’t have the bulk sum of money to pay after a show, GRA won’t threaten to shut down my company because of certain issues,” he concluded, calling for a system that would allow artists to focus on their work without fearing sudden tax disruptions.
