Mid-year budget: Majority supports increased tax proposal

The Majority in Parliament has declared its intention to support proposal by the government to increase taxes that may be announced during the presentation of the mid-year budget statement on Thursday July 19 by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta.

This comes on the heels of speculations that some taxes including the Value Added (VAT) Tax will be increased contrary to promises by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government that it will drastically remove or cut down on taxes during the buildup to the 2016 polls.

Speaking to Class FM on Monday 16 July 2018, Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Matthew Nyindam, said plans by government to increase taxes will not impoverish Ghanaians, saying, the new taxes will rather be used to fix the country's current challenges.

“If VAT will be increased to provide the needed medical care for the poor and vulnerable I am all up for it. The impact is going to be positive; it is not going to be negative,” he stated.

However, at a special roundtable dialogue on the midyear economic performance and projections of the budget, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, has urged Ghanaians to brace themselves for more hardship in the coming days and also cautioned government to desist from what they described as reckless borrowing.