FLASHBACK: State loses GH¢27 billion to tax exemptions - Finance Minister

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on July 19, 2022, noted that the state lost a sum of GH¢27 billion to tax exemptions between 2008 and 2020.

This, he said, caused the country's revenue to dip to about GH¢1.8 billion in 2020.

Ken Ofori-Atta made this known when he appeared before parliament on Friday, July 15, 2022.

Read the full story originally published on July 19, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.

We need to protect the public purse, Ofori-Atta

Ghana to save GH¢460 million on tax exemptions this year, Ofori-Atta

Tax Exemption Bill 2020 considered under certificate of urgency by the Finance Committee

The country lost an amount of GH¢27 billion to tax exemptions between 2008 and 2020, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has confirmed.

Disclosing this in parliament on Friday, July 15, Ken Ofori-Atta added that through these years, the country's revenue dipped to about GH¢1.8 billion in only 2020.

He said to avert some of these challenges, it is prudent for the state to protect the public purse to keep the economy on a sound footing.

“It is true, as Ranking Member mentioned that some GH¢27 billion had been lost to tax exemptions. This brings into focus the need for all of us to protect the public purse. That is an important social re-engineering for us, as we lose revenue on many fronts,” he said.

The Finance Minister, however, said Ghana is likely to make some savings of GH¢460 million on tax exemptions this year.

The Tax Exemptions Bill 2020 was considered under a certificate of urgency by the Finance Committee.

The Bill when passed, will set clear eligibility criteria for tax exemptions and provide for the monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of exemptions, Daily Graphic reported.

It will also provide a regulatory regime for monitoring tax exemptions to ensure that exemptions granted are used for the intended purposes, as well as curtail the abuse of the existing exemption regime.

ESA/FNOQ