Support passage of key revenue bills - Oppong-Nkrumah appeals to Minority

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has urged colleague members on the Minority caucus in parliament to lend their support towards the passage of key revenue bills which are before the House.

Government, through the Ministry of Finance, has tabled some three revenue bills for consideration. These include Income Tax Amendment Bill, Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.

Government believes these tax bills can rake in about GH¢4 billion annually to support its domestic revenue mobilisation efforts.

Ahead of the crucial passage of the bills, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah wants a coordinated effort by both the majority and minority groups to agree on the passage of the bills.

“I am not too fixated on arguing with GUTA and AGI. We must find a very decent middle ground that allows us to close this gap for our collective good. To our colleagues in the Minority, I think it is clear that we need to work together to achieve a certain objective for the country. Sometimes we are whipped up but let’s look at the country’s interest at this point in time,” Oppong-Nkrumah told journalists in Accra.

He continued, “The world is ready to help us, China, the Paris Club and external creditors are all with us in a good place now and are looking at us to see if we can help ourselves. My appeal to those in government, Minority, economic groups is that, we must ensure that these revenue bills are passed to close this GH¢4 billion gap.”

Meanwhile, government has said passage of the revenue bills will help Ghana secure an Executive Board Level approval for an economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

MA/DA