Amid the notion that stronger enforcement, stiffer penalties and tougher laws are the surest ways to ensure tax compliance, the World Bank is calling on Ghana to rethink how it encourages citizens to honour their tax obligations.
The World Bank says stronger enforcement, stiffer penalties and tougher laws alone will not deliver the level of tax compliance needed to finance the country’s development ambitions.
Instead, the international financial institution says building trust, changing public attitudes and helping taxpayers understand why and how they should pay taxes could prove just as important as audits and sanctions in boosting domestic revenue mobilisation.
This case was made by the Lead Public Sector Specialist at the World Bank, Raymond Muhula, during a training program for some staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Organized under the theme, ‘Leveraging Social and Behavioral Change Communications for Tax Compliance in Ghana, ’ Raymond Muhula said voluntary tax compliance thrives when citizens see taxation not merely as a legal obligation but as a shared investment in national development.
He argued that as Ghana seeks to reduce its dependence on external financing while meeting growing demands for better roads, schools, hospitals, security, digital services and climate resilience, improving tax compliance has become an economic necessity.
Changing Minds, Not Just Enforcing Laws
In his remarks, Raymond Muhula argued that behavioural change communication goes far beyond public awareness campaigns or advertising.
Rather than relying on slogans or one-off publicity drives, he said the approach seeks to understand the psychological and social factors that influence taxpayer behaviour. It goes deeper to understand why some traders delay registering their businesses, why small business owners avoid filing returns, or why some professionals under-declare their income despite knowing their obligations.
According to him, addressing these underlying behaviours can significantly improve compliance because it tackles the reasons people fail to pay taxes instead of simply punishing them after they default.
The World Bank official explained that when taxpayers clearly understand what is expected of them, find tax procedures easy to navigate, believe the tax system treats everyone fairly and see visible evidence that their taxes are being used responsibly, they are far more likely to comply voluntarily.
Such behavioural changes, he noted, could reduce the need for costly enforcement campaigns while widening the country’s tax base in a more sustainable manner.
“We know that compliance is not determined by laws, systems, and penalties alone. People comply when they understand their obligations, when processes are simple, when they believe others are also contributing, when they see fairness in the system, and when they trust that public resources are being used for the common good. This is where social and behavioral change communications becomes indispensable,” the public sector specialist remarked.
Building a Stronger Social Contract
He observed that Ghana has already introduced several reforms aimed at expanding the tax net, simplifying tax processes and increasing the use of digital platforms, some of which are supported through the World Bank’s US$150 million Public Financial Management for Service Delivery Programme.
However, he cautioned that even the best policy reforms risk falling short if taxpayers do not understand them or perceive them as unfair. He stressed that communication must therefore become an integral part of tax administration, ensuring that taxpayers receive clear, practical and credible information that helps them comply with confidence.
Rather than seeing tax payment as money taken away by government, citizens should understand it as a contribution towards financing public services that benefit everyone.
He described communicators as “architects of public understanding,” saying they play a vital role in translating complex tax policies into simple language that ordinary citizens can relate to and act upon.
A Collective Responsibility
The World Bank also called for a whole-of-society approach to improving tax compliance, insisting that responsibility cannot rest solely with the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Raymond Muhula said ministries, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, civil society organisations, professional bodies, educational institutions, traditional leaders, the media, technology providers and development partners all have important roles to play in fostering a culture of tax compliance.
He encouraged stakeholders to design communication strategies that are evidence-based, rooted in Ghana’s social realities and capable of producing measurable behavioural change.
He further urged authorities to combine digital innovation with face-to-face engagement, listen carefully to taxpayers’ concerns and deliberately build public trust.
Ultimately, he said, improving tax compliance is not only about collecting more revenue but about strengthening the social contract between government and citizens.
“When people trust the system, understand their responsibilities and believe everyone is contributing fairly, paying taxes becomes less of a burden and more of a civic duty,” he said.
This cultural shift, the World Bank believes, could become one of Ghana’s most powerful tools for financing sustainable development.
