Government’s tax holiday favours the rich – Fraser Institute

A Canadian Think Tank, The Fraser Institute, has criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s for his tax exemptions to several multi-national companies.

According to the globally recognised Think Tank, the president’s tax exemption policies favours the rich.

Ghana reportedly loses more than US$1.5 billion annually as a result of tax incentive given to some multi-national companies and some other corporate organizations operating in the country.

Speaking on the sidelines at a forum on the economic freedom of the world index, a resident fellow at the Fraser Institute, Fred McMahon told Starr FM’s Daniel Nii Lartey that government must control its spending to check weak economic prospects.

“Most relatively poor nations have rather a small government. Ghana is a bit of an exception…it doesn’t have a huge government but for a nation at this level of prosperity it has a large government and ofcourse Ghana has had fiscal problems in the past…so it is very important for the Ghanaian government to get spending under control otherwise the economic prospects of Ghana will continue to be weak.

“Having a fair taxation for everyone including the rich and the powerful is tremendously important and all the exemptions that the government is putting in place favour the privilege and the privilege should not be favoured, they should be treated equally with everyone else,” Mr. McMahon said.