Bishop Daniel Obinim
Founder of Godsway International Church, Bishop
Daniel Obinim has sued the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for ‘arbitrarily’
blocking his bank account over claims of invading over GH¢769,000 in rent taxes.
Attached to the suit is Fidelity Bank where the
plaintiff’s bank accounts and fixed deposit investments have been hit through
an order issued by the Commissioner-General of GRA.
The revenue Authority last month placed a lien
on the accounts of Bishop Obinim for allegedly failing to pay a total amount of
GH¢769,095.87 in taxes on his Abroso Guest House Limited, a block of 21-unit
shops located at Tema as well as a guest house in Accra.
The pastor in his writ filed before an Accra
High Court however, claims that he has paid all outstanding rent taxes and the
GRA had on two separate occasions conceded that he personally does not owe any
taxes.
He described moves by the GRA as arbitrary,
illegal and a deliberate attempt to disgrace him.
Claims
Bishop Obinim in his statement of claims
averred that GRA on December 18, 2018, wrote to him demanding payment of an
alleged tax liability of the sum of GH¢719,890 on the two properties.
The plaintiff stated that prior to the issuance
of the above-stated demand letter, on or around July 2018, the GRA conducted
audit and assessment in respect of the same rent taxes payable on the same
properties.
As a result of the said audit exercise, the GRA
concluded that the plaintiff’s tax liability for the period of 2014 to 2018 was
GH¢769,095.87.
He argued that he made payments of all the
outstanding rent taxes to the GRA and he has been issued with receipts.
The writ claims that Bishop Obinim was
therefore taken by surprise when Fidelity Bank denied him access to his funds
on June 3, 2019, when he attempted to withdraw money from the accounts.
He said the bank informed him that it had
received a demand notice in a form of garnishment issued by the
Commissioner-General of the GRA compelling them to prevent him from accessing
his personal funds of some GH¢ 769,095.87.
Reliefs
Bishop Obinim is seeking “a declaration that, the plaintiff has paid all taxes due and demanded by 1st Defendant [GRA] from the plaintiff in respect of rent taxes payable on the 21 shops for the period of 2014 to 2018 and that; he does not owe in taxes, the sum of GH¢ 769,095.87 purportedly representing rent taxes payable on the Block of 21 shops.”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
The post Obinim Sues GRA Over GH¢769,000 Tax appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
