Majority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu responded to the minority’s claims that the system would not be able to withstand the difficulties presented by the 2022 budget report.
The lawmaker representing the majority side in making their final argument on the 2022 budget report, said the minority cannot claim the system is tough because the system was tough before the nuclear power plant took over from them.
He said the country was extremely tough as the NDC imposed taxes on condoms and contraceptives.
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu felt that the system was already “hot” and yet the government introduced new taxes.
He said they had no sympathy because if they had, they would not have imposed the 1.75% electronic tax on MoMo and banking transactions.
The government of Ghana has introduced a tax on electronic transactions, E-Levy on mobile money transactions, ions and other electronic transactions.
The minister said it was a strategy to widen the tax net and reduce the burden on the few Ghanaians who pay their taxes.
The minority think the levy was insensitive and they would do anything to reject it.
But the majority leader, in his submission, took the minority to the cleaners accusing them of deceiving Ghanaians.
He said the NPP after taking office abolished several nuisance taxes, including the
– 1% special import levy;
– 17.5% VAT / NHIL on financial services;
– 17.5% VAT / NHIL on a selection of imported medicines, which are not produced locally;
– Initiate measures to remove import duties on raw materials and production machinery within the framework of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff Protocol (CET);
– 17.5% VAT / NHIL on national plane tickets;
– 5% VAT / NHIL on real estate sales;
– Excise duties on petroleum;
– Special rate of the petroleum tax from 17.5% to 15%;
– Duty on the importation of spare parts;
– Levies imposed on kayayei by local authorities;
– Taxation, gains from the realization of securities listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange or government securities approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
He added that the government has further taken the following measures to facilitate doing business in Ghana.
Reduce the tax on the national electrification program from 5% to 3%;
– Reduce the public lighting tax from 5% to 2%;
– Replace the rate of 17.5 VAT / NHIL by a flat rate of 3% for traders; and
– Set up tax credits and other incentives for companies that hire young graduates.