Govt applauded for abolishing, reducing some taxes
A chartered tax consultant, Mr Isaac Nyame, has commended the government for abolishing some taxes and reducing others, saying the move will open up the economy for more investment.
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He said although tax reduction would adversely affect the short-term revenue expectations of the government, it would, in the long term, empower the private sector to build their businesses and create more jobs.
Mr Nyame said this at a tax seminar organised by the Graduate School of the Pentecost University College (PUC) in Accra.
The seminar, which is held annually, provides a platform to discuss the government’s budget and plans for the economy.
This year’s event was on the theme: “The 2017 National Budget Statement in perspective: Does it answer the economic development goals of Ghana?”
Clarity
Meanwhile, Mr Nyame has asked the government to come clear on the new tax administration measures that would be put in place to ensure that employers comply with employment income tax requirements.
In the recent budget, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, indicated that only about one third of those in employment were captured by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
As part of measures to address the problem, Mr Ofori-Atta said the government would ensure that all employers filed annual tax deduction schedules.
Mr Nyame observed that the Finance Minister did not state the specific measures that would be put in place to deal with the situation.
“It is important for the government to come clear on the new tax administration measures that will be put in place to ensure that employers comply with this requirement, since it has been in our tax laws for a long time without effective implementation,” he said.
University determined
In his welcome address, the Vice Rector of the PUC and Dean of the Graduate School, Professor Kwame Boasiako Omane-Antwi, said programme implementation had always been the bane of Ghana’s development challenge.
He said Ghana needed more efficient institutions and attitudes that were conducive to an increase in productivity and the promotion of development in general.
Prof. Omane-Antwi said in the budget, the government recognised agriculture as the main anchor of the country’s economic transformation and stressed that agriculture held the key to the national socio-economic development agenda.
He described the 2017 budget statement as a budget that carried a lot of good news, "as it is moving Ghana beyond aid and shifting focus of economic management from taxation to production".