The National Welfare Officer of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA),Benjamin Yeboah, has expressed concern over the new tax policies introduced by the government.
In an interview on the Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun, Benjamin Yeboah stated that Ghanaians cannot bear the struggle of additional taxes, particularly the income tax amendment and exercise duty amendment bill.
According to Yeboah, these taxes would add extra costs to doing business, at a time when Ghanaians are already struggling with the high cost of living. He emphasized that GUTA had previously raised flags about these issues. “Last year we did a lot of noise about these things to the extent that we had to close down our shops and it took the intervention of the Ga Manste and the President himself and even it was tough until the cedis started appreciating before we complied.”
Mr. Yeboah noted that Ghanaians are already struggling with the 2.5% tax addition to utilities, as well as high electricity and water tariffs. He warned that any additional layer of taxation would make things even more expensive and reduce the purchasing power of Ghanaians.
To address the revenue challenge, Mr. Yeboah urged Parliament to look for more innovative ways of spreading the tax net, rather than always resorting to taxing things. He suggested that the government should learn from the e-levy experience, where Ghanaians initially complained about the high rate, but started complying when the rate was reduced.
“It will also make businesses fold, lay off workers and I mean the implications are many that is why we were telling parliament to look at other ways to create revenue because it’s not always taxing things that brings revenue. We’ve asked them to look at more innovative ways of spreading the tax net. They brought e-levy but the rate was high and when they reduced it, Ghanaians stopped complaining and started complying. It’s about looking for ways and means to put everyone on the bracket but these new tax increases are not it. They should learn from the e-levy experience,” he added.
The GUTA executive further called on the government to reconsider the new tax increases and explore other avenues for revenue generation.
This comes after Parliament approved three new taxes last Friday despite calls by several groups to reject the revenue policies. The bills include the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill 2022, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022,
The government intends to generate about 4 billion cedis from the new taxes to take in more revenue and also secure a 3 billion dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
By: Jude Tackie