Question Tag: Tax Planning

John Zookay is a Ghanaian Citizen who has lived in the Republic of Liberia for many years.
He is also a citizen of Liberia. He is an employee of a Multinational Company that has a
subsidiary company in Ghana and Liberia. He works for the Ghanaian subsidiary company,
but his role makes him work for the other subsidiary in Liberia as well. John has chosen Ghana
as a place of his permanent home even though his immediate family is based in the Republic
of Liberia and he visits Ghana anytime during the year.
In 2018, John spent more than 184 days outside Ghana working for the Liberia office. In
addition to his employment income in Ghana, he earned some income from a high yielding
fixed deposit accounts maintained with Bank of Africa, Ghana. His gross interest income for
the year 2018 was GH¢10,000 from Bank of Africa. A few years back, whilst studying in the
United Kingdom, he maintained some high yielding interest bearing account from which he
earned £3,500 in 2018. John does not know how the current income tax law “Income Tax Act,
2015 (Act 896)” will affect his incomes earned from Ghana and elsewhere in the United
Kingdom and is worried that he would be liable to tax on all his incomes in Ghana. He is keen
on getting tax planning advice from you to enable him reduce his tax liability (if any).
John also had serious business interests in Ghana. In view of this interests, he set up two
companies limited by shares in Ghana in which he implemented his business ideas. The
following are the objects of his two companies:
1) farming and production of palm fruits on commercial scale; and
2) processing of palm fruits into oil for both the local and international market

John together with his management team strategically decided that each of the companies
maintains equity in each other in order to avoid difficulties with sourcing for external funding
thus using income from dividends within his companies effectively. John intends that at some
point, he will merge the two companies into one to avoid all the legal compliance obligations
and duplication of cost associated with running separate companies. All the two companies are
instalment taxpayers and are required to file their self-assessment estimate at their various tax
offices.
John desperately needs your assistance to enable him structure his personal and business
interest so as to minimise his tax liability.
Required:
a) Prepare a briefing paper to John on the tax implications on him and his companies. (10 marks)
b) Advise him on the compliance obligations of his companies under self-assessment. (10 marks)