Angel FM boss responds to speculations GRA ‘forced’ him to suspend Captain Smart

• The broadcaster was suspended for allegedly slandering some government officials

• Though he denied any wrongdoing, he claimed his boss told him the decision was made as a result of unbearable pressure from the GRA

Founder and President of the Angel Group of Companies, Dr. Kwaku Oteng has described as “sheer ignorance” allegations that he succumbed to pressure from the Ghana Revenue Authority and suspended Captain Smart because his organization had been evading taxes hence failure to heed the supposed call would have forced the authority to ensure maximum compliance of the tax law.

Captain Smart, a radio presenter with Angel FM was taken off air by Dr. Kwaku Oteng. The media organization said the decision was arrived at following Captain Smart’s constant attacks on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, among other government officials.

The owner was said to have held a number of meetings with the employee on the need to tone down on his attacks but that counsel fell on deaf ears – a posture that left the entrepreneur with no option but to sanction the broadcaster.

A few hours after his one-month suspension was announced, Captain Smart alleged on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana that he was informed of his suspension by the owner of ABN with the reason that he (Dr. Oteng) was under pressure from the Ghana Revenue Authority and other state institutions.

“I called Dr Kwaku Oteng and he said some people within [….] Akufo-Addo’s government are calling him and have been writing him letters from Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) just because they say I talk too much.

“In the course of the conversation, he told me that because of the pressure, when I close from work today [Thursday, May 6] he would want me to go off air for some time and when the pressure from above comes down, then I can resume,” Captain Smart claimed.

His statement engendered controversy with some people concluding that Dr. Kwaku Oteng kowtowed to GRA because he has not been fulfilling his tax obligations.

Receiving the ‘2020 Best Excise Taxpayer in Ashanti Region’ award from the GRA, Dr. Kwaku Oteng said the claims were untrue.

“All those are allegations borne out of sheer ignorance; how can I be running such a big business and fail to pay taxes and expect that the Ghana Revenue Authority would not come after me. I have been paying taxes to the government of Ghana for the past 30 years, so it is ridiculous for anybody to say that I have not been paying my taxes”, angelonline.com.gh owned by the business mogul quotes him to have said.

The portal further reports that a plaque presented by the Ashanti Area Head of the GRA, Mr Samuel Sakyi Duodu read: “This is in recognition of your performance as the BEST EXCISE TAXPAYER 2020 Year of Assessment for the Ashanti Area of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Congratulations”.

Meanwhile, the GRA has said it has not harassed Dr. Kwaku Oteng. A statement issued on May 11 by Florence Asante, Assistant Commissioner, Communication & Public Affairs Department of the GRA said the allegations are “unfounded and false…At no point in time did GRA harass Dr Oteng as alleged.

“The GRA has at various times communicated with Dr Oteng as part of measures to ensure compliance with tax obligations as it does with all taxpayers,” the statement added.

Read the press release below.