|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Deputy Finance Minister-designate, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has assured Ghanaians that the government will not impose new taxes in the upcoming budget, despite concerns from the Minority in Parliament.
The Minority had alleged that the government intended to introduce new taxes to generate approximately 200 billion cedis in revenue this year. However, Nyarko Ampem dismissed these claims, emphasizing that the government’s strategy will focus on improving tax compliance and expanding the existing tax base rather than introducing additional levies.
“The Finance Minister has said this many times—we do not need to introduce new taxes to rake in more revenue. We are going to broaden the tax base. We are actually going to enhance compliance. And you will hear a lot of this in the budget when it is presented. And you’ll see,” he assured.
He further highlighted the importance of maximizing Ghana’s economic rent from industries, especially in light of the country’s restricted access to international bond markets.
“In fact, he hinted that as a country, we are not taking advantage of the economic rent that we are supposed to generate revenue from through the exploiting of industry… To be honest with you, because we have been denied access to the international bond market, we have to do two things—enhance revenue and also manage expenditure,” he explained.
Nyarko Ampem reaffirmed that the budget, scheduled for presentation to Parliament on March 11, will focus on strengthening domestic revenue mobilization without placing an additional tax burden on citizens.
Email Daily Mail GH: stories@dailymailgh.com or
Whatsapp: +233(0)509928122
