Ofori-Atta's 35% income tax wipes GHC2K+ off MPs' salary

MPs in Ghana’s parliament, since the inception of the new 35% income tax on GHS10,000 earners, are now taking home at least GHS2000 less than they received prior to the implementation of the new tax, Kumbungu MP Ras Mubarak, has said.

“Hitherto Finance Minister’s new taxes on some category of Ghanaian workers, MPs who received a take-home of a little over GHS11,000 monthly are now receiving a little over GHS 9,000”, Mr Mubarak complained on his Facebook wall.

“This is not just an assault on working people, but a sad way to run a country”, he lamented, adding: “Prices of everything is up except the salaries of Ghanaian workers”.

“It costs me more to fly to my constituency to work than it did two years ago. It’s worse when I drive, as fuel prices are so high. You simply cannot tax your way out of crass incompetence”, the Minority MP said, noting that: "This introduction affects everybody", since "people depend on MPs and the middle class generally".

In Mr Mubarak's view: "If you go after our disposal income, what it means is, it will have a bearing on the number of lives we can change through the various forms of support we give".

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced the new tax, among others, when he presented the Mid-year budget review to parliament on Thursday, 19 July 2018.

Mr Ofori-Atta said government reviewed the personal income tax categories “to include an additional band of GHS10,000 and above per month at a rate of 35%”.