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Minority in Parliament Claims Saving Ghana $150 Million by Challenging Tax Waivers for 1D1F Companies
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, has asserted that the Minority in Parliament played a crucial role in saving Ghana $150 million by contesting the government’s tax waivers for 42 companies under the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) initiative.
In an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV with Bernard Avle, Dr. Forson highlighted the impact of the Minority’s objections, stating:
“Since the time we stopped all of these, at the point, the value of those exemptions was $459 million… They had subsequently gone back, reviewed some of these tax exemptions and brought a revised amount worth $335 million, by that press statement alone. Based on our resistance alone, we have saved the nation almost $150 million.”
Dr. Forson cited an instance involving Sentuo Oil Refinery Limited, where he questioned the assessment process, indicating a potential overvaluation in the assessment of the refinery.
“We worked for Parliament to institute a guideline and also worked for Parliament to approve tax exemptions Act. Since then, the government started submitting some tax exemptions and upon scrutiny, we noticed something fundamentally wrong with it.”
He further clarified that the Minority is not fundamentally against tax exemptions but has reservations about the tax waivers for the 1D1F project due to perceived abuses.
“We’re not against tax exemptions in principle, but with this particular tax exemption for the 1D1F project, we have issues. For 2021, we felt that there was a need to review that policy because we have seen some abuses.”
The Ministry of Finance began processes in 2021 to secure approximately $335,072,712.13 in tax exemptions for 42 companies under the 1D1F initiative. Among these, Sentuo Oil Refinery Limited received the highest figure of $164,633,012.00.
The Minority’s intervention highlights their commitment to scrutinizing government initiatives and ensuring transparency in financial matters affecting the nation.
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