Government begins talks with IMF
Mid-year budget review postponed amidst talks with IMF
Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has stated that the imposition of new taxes including the E-Levy does not provide a conducive environment for businesses to thrive in the country.
He said businesses that use technology as part of their operations are being made to fold up as a result of the taxes imposed on them.
“They are the ones who should get tax concessions. They are not the ones who should suffer the tax.”
But Ghana is currently “doing the reverse.”
“You have old industries, and you keep renewing their incentives and when new industries come, we rather tax them instead of providing them with incentives,” he added.
Meanwhile, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has bemoaned the state of the country’s revenue generation.
According to him, despite the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy in March 2022 and subsequent implementation in May, the tax measure is only delivering 10 percent of the estimated revenues for the country.
On Monday, June 27, 2022, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko stated in a series of tweets that Ghana's revenue generation is still relatively low in comparison to the rest of the world.
He also bemoaned the rising debt level, which reached GH¢391.9 billion at the end of March 2022.
“After 5 months of stalemate and bashing, the e-levy, after implementation, is delivering only 10% of estimated revenues; our revenues remain very low as compared to the rest of the world; debt levels dangerously high, cedi, like most currencies, struggling against the US dollar,” he wrote.
SSD/MA/FNOQ
Former Minister of Finance, Seth Tekper