George Ofori, GUTA president
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has asked the government to reduce the taxes it has slapped on its members for doing business in the country.
They said the taxes had eroded their revenue and made it less attractive to trade as their profits had been seriously eroded.
A member of GUTA, Richard Amamoo, speaking on Accra News Tuesday February 16, 2016 said the government had been treating Ghanaian traders as dairy cattle by milking them dry through incessant taxation, the latest being the Common External Tariff (CET). He lamented that despite the high rates of taxation in the country, charges on imported items were still very high, making it virtually impossible to make decent profits on their sale.
“Even if we were milking cows, and we were not fed, wouldn’t we die? If the government keeps taxing us, all our capital will disappear,” said Mr Amamoo.
According to him, following the failure of government to heed their requests to reduce taxes, it had instructed its members to hang pieces of red cloths at the entrance of their shops, as an initial sign of discontent, prior to a more overt action to be taken by the association, should the matter persist.
“We have asked all our members to hang red bands in front of their shops; it is a sign that their businesses have collapsed,” explained Mr Amamoo.
