Govt to miss out on GH¢4bn in revenue if petroleum taxes are removed - Akufo-Addo
Labour unions agitate over working conditions
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expalined why it will not be prudent for government to remove taxes on petroleum products.
This comes after prices of petroleum products selling at the pumps have increased significantly since the start of this year with consumers and the general population calling on government to remove some taxes.
But President Akufo-Addo speaking at this year’s May Day Celebrations argued that the removal of taxes on petroleum, will rather result in government missing out on some GH¢4 billion cedis in revenue.
“At this time, when we are determined to expand Government revenues in order to increase our capacity to finance our own development, can we afford to reduce tax revenues by four billion cedis?” he asked.
He added that the government was currently faced with very tight fiscal and financing conditions, and revenue generation constraints, hence removing taxes on petroleum taxes will worsen the current conditions.
“Indeed, some of the revenues from these same taxes on petroleum products are what is used to pay some of the salaries of the seven hundred thousand public sector workers on government’s payroll,” he argued.
The president however reiterated government's commitment to mitigating the persistent hikes in fuel prices, cedi depreciation and general cost of living in the country.
“Government is also working hard to ensure reliable supply and availability of petroleum products, thereby preventing shortages, a phenomenon which is being experienced in some other neighbouring countries. By the same token, we are keeping the lights on in Ghana,” he said.
“We should bear in mind that, even though we are a modest producer of crude oil, with a current output of 148,000 barrels per day, we are still a net importer of petroleum products. We, therefore, continue to be vulnerable to the price volatilities of the world market for petroleum products,” he added.
