We will resist imposition of additional taxes on Ghanaians
The Minority in Parliament has described the 2015 budget statement as disappointing and vowed to resist any attempt to impose additional taxes on Ghanaians.
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A Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, told the Daily Graphic that the statement failed to state the measures to be taken to address the energy crisis the country was grappling with.
"The most pressing concern of Ghanaians today is the energy crisis, but the entire budget statement did not say anything about energy delivery. The prospect that we will experience outages for the next one year is very frightening," he said.
On the imposition of a 17.5 per cent tax on petroleum products, which is to come into effect some time this month, he said it was wrong to impose additional taxes in an economy which, according to the records, was not expanding.
"The imposition of the tax means the prices of general goods will go up and in the end there will be a rise in the cost of living. Clearly, 2015 is going to be a tough year for Ghanaians," he added.
Deputy Minority Leader
The Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, said the Minority would resist any attempt to impose the 17.5 per cent tax on petroleum products.
He said the group would first make its position clear on the tax at the meetings of the Finance Committee of Parliament and if that position was not taken into consideration, it would kick against the approval of the budget on the floor of the House.
He said the Minority would stage a walkout if it realised that the Majority was being adamant.
He said the imposition of the tax meant that the economic plight of the Ghanaian would worsen and accused the government of being insensitive.
According to Mr Nitiwul, all government officials were provided with free fuel, adding that the imposition of the tax would deal a blow to the average Ghanaian.
He warned the Majority not to use its larger numbers to "bulldoze" its way through and approve the tax, saying if it did, it could incur the wrath of the people.
Mr Nitiwul reminded the Majority of the recent events in Burkina Faso, where the government was toppled when it was clear that the regime, although democratic, was going contrary to the wishes of the people.