Granting $449m in tax exemptions will stimulate the economy, attract investments – Majority Leader defends

The Majority caucus in parliament has insisted that businesses under the government’s One District One Factory initiative require tax exemptions to thrive in their respective ventures.

The remarks follow a deadlock in parliament between the two sides of the House over the approval of tax breaks worth $449 million for 1D1F companies.

Reacting to some claims made by the Minority in parliament, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the proposed exemptions are critical for these businesses.

He argued that the tax exemptions, when granted, will not only stimulate economic growth but attract key investments into the economy.

“Tax exemptions are used to attract investments, but the NDC is looking at them with a very myopic eye. Let me explain to you that when a government introduces tax exemptions, it is aimed at driving economic growth, and in effect, these tax exemptions become tax credits. It is not for free, so the NDC should not mislead Ghanaians,” he is quoted by citinewsroom.com

“When a company is investing in our country and we say you are not going to pay taxes for imports of materials and equipment, what it means is that when that is given, it eventually becomes a tax credit, and the state will gain, and this is what the NDC could not do and does not understand,” Afenyo Markin added.

Meanwhile, the Minority in parliament, led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson have constantly kicked against granting these tax exemptions to 1D1F businesses citing concerns about potential corruption and misuse of public funds.

NOQ

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