NPP will not tax pensions and allowances – Bawumia

The vice-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has noted the NPP will review the various taxes that have burdened Ghanaians, stressing it will review the Income Tax Act 2015 to abolish taxes on pensions and allowances.

The NPP Vice-Presidential candidate said the NPP under Nana Akufo-Addo has a significantly different vision which does not focus on taxation, but on productivity, jobs and the welfare of the Ghanaian people.

“An NPP government will build the most business friendly and most people friendly economy in Africa. This means that job creation will be at the heart of economic policy. A lot of the other taxes we are seeing today will be scrapped.

“We will reduce the tax burden on our people and businesses so that they can employ more people and introduce a Tax Credit scheme for Companies that employ fresh graduates so that we will increase the employment of fresh graduates,” Dr. Bawumia told students and lecturers of the E.P. College of Education, Amedzofe in the Volta region, Wednesday.

He explained that pensioners are one of the most vulnerable persons in society and that in the view of the NPP gains made on investments in Pensions are part of pensions and should be protected as it will not only make pensioners more comfortable but will also ensure that individuals have a bigger capacity to invest in businesses or simply increase savings and therefore, access to credit.

The former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana once again stated that for the NPP, the ideal way to increasing tax revenue is by formalizing the economy through the issuance of National IDs and a properly functioning Property Address system, which will expand the tax net and by growing the economy through a focus on jobs and productivity.