In a bid to further deepen the legal understanding of taxation frameworks in Ghana, the University of Ghana School of Law (UGSoL) Library in collaboration with the University of Ghana Law Students’ Union organised the School’s second book talk session as part of the 48th Law Students Union Law Week celebration.
The session was held on the theme; Tax Law Reforms in Ghana: Perspectives from Academia and Practice, where renowned lecturers of UGSoL and authors of the 5th Edition of the Law of Taxation in Ghana – Dr Benjamin Kunbour, Dr Abdallah Ali-Nakyea, and Mr. William Kofi Owusu Demitia shared their perspectives on Ghana’s taxation framework and the importance of academia’s role in framing tax laws and its impact on the practicality of these laws to the ordinary Ghanaian.
Speaking on the session’s theme, Mr. William Kofi Owusu Demitia, Lecturer at UGSoL, highlighted the need for individuals of academia and taxation practice to constantly arm themselves with the changing policies and frameworks of Ghana’s taxation landscape to better position themselves in their approach to taxation issues in their works.
“As a tax practitioner, be it in academia or practice, you constantly have to apply yourself in the changing phases of tax laws, in terms of rates, areas of exemption, taxable areas and several tax policy changes because of the complexities of our tax laws,” he stated.
Mr. Demitia urged the government to create a taxation policy plan to help mitigate the confusion associated with Ghana’s tax laws and consciously include stakeholders in planning our tax laws.
Dr Benjamin Kunbour, also a Lecturer at UGSoL noted that as tax professionals there is the “need to investigate and interrogate tax issues into more detail and make a comparative study of other jurisdictions and how they have handled these issues to the benefit of their country and furtherance of the study of tax law to help our country’s tax issues”.
Dr Abdallah Ali-Nakyea, Lecturer at UGSoL and a co-author of the 5th Edition of the Law of Taxation in Ghana, encouraged students to make it a point to stay abreast with the current changes with the law in their area of expertise, while building up on their legal writing skills to enhance their practice of the law.
Dorcas Darko, a post-first-degree LLB, student, shared her excitement for the opportunity to tap into the minds of established taxation experts and to fully appreciate the tax frameworks of the country.
“The 2nd book talk session has been an insightful experience for me, it provided my colleagues and I the opportunity to interact with great minds from the field of taxation. The icing on the cake for me, was the authors ability to connect pointers from the book to classroom interactions and practice,” she shared.
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