The Minority in Parliament has threatened to resist any new taxes to be imposed by the Mahama government in the next budget, citing concerns over the government’s intention to increase taxes and introduce new ones.
According to Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minority believes that the government’s plan to collect GHS200 billion in tax revenues this year is unrealistic and will only serve to burden Ghanaians further.
Dr. Adam noted that the previous NPP administration collected GHS152.9 billion in taxes by the end of 2024, which represented a 17% tax-to-GDP ratio, up from 13% in 2016 under President Mahama’s administration.
“How do you then turn around to expect to collect GHS200 billion in a broken economy?” Dr. Adam asked.
The Minority also expressed concerns over the government’s plan to scrap the E-Levy and COVID-19 Levy, only to replace them with new taxes on the mining, telecommunications, financial sector, and real estate industries.
“Does it make sense to scrap E-Levy and betting tax, and replace them with new taxes that will all be passed on to customers?” Dr. Adam queried.
Dr. Adam also criticized President Mahama’s State of the Nation Address, which he claimed painted a bleak picture of the economy.
“The President has effectively told investors to go away because the economy is in crisis, contrary to the evidence,” Dr. Adam said.
The Minority also noted that the government’s economic strategy, as outlined by President Mahama, lacked substance and failed to address the pressing issue of job creation.
“The only area he mentioned was in the processing of passports. Not even the incentives to industries that will create sustainable jobs,” Dr. Adam observed.
The former finance minister also accused President Mahama of engaging in a blame game, citing his previous criticism of the late President John Evans Atta Mills’ administration.
“This is what President Mahama said about the poor performance of their first four years during which he served as Vice President… We inherited an economy that was running a high deficit, with increasing inflation and interest rates,” Dr. Adam quoted.
The Minority has vowed to hold the government accountable for its promises to Ghanaians and to resist any attempts to impose new taxes or increase existing ones.
“We owe it a duty to hold the government accountable for their promises to the people of Ghana,” Dr. Adam stated.
–BY Daniel Bampoe
