In a surprising turn of events, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has announced that it will not introduce new taxes in the upcoming budget.
This decision comes after the Minority in Parliament, composed of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members, threatened to vehemently oppose any new tax measures.
According to Deputy Finance Minister-designate, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, the government has decided to focus on improving tax compliance and expanding the existing tax base instead of introducing new levies.
“The Finance Minister has said this many times—we do not need to introduce new taxes to rake in more revenue. We are going to broaden the tax base. We are actually going to enhance compliance,” Ampem assured.
The Minority had alleged that the government intended to introduce new taxes to generate approximately GHC 200 billion in revenue this year.
However, Nyarko Ampem dismissed these claims, emphasizing that the government’s strategy would focus on domestic revenue mobilization without placing an additional tax burden on citizens.
The MP for Asuogyaman, Nyarko Ampem also highlighted the importance of maximizing Ghana’s economic rent from industries, especially in light of the country’s restricted access to international bond markets.
“In fact, he hinted that as a country, we are not taking advantage of the economic rent that we are supposed to generate revenue from through the exploiting of industry… To be honest with you, because we have been denied access to the international bond market, we have to do two things—enhance revenue and also manage expenditure,” he explained.
The decision not to introduce new taxes is seen as a major victory for the Minority, which had threatened to oppose any new tax measures.
The NPP had argued that the government’s tax policies would further burden Ghanaians, who are already struggling with high costs of living.
-BY Issah Olegor
