New taxes: Environmental Excise duty to cover vehicle emissions, stamp duty to be reviewed

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has revealed that the government plans to expand the Environmental Excise Duty to cater to plastic waste pollution and vehicle emissions.

To address the negative externalities of plastic waste and pollution, the Government will review and expand the Environmental Excise Duty to cover plastic packaging and industrial and vehicle emissions.

In addition to that the government said the Stamp duty act will be reviewed.

“Mr. Speaker, the Stamp Duty Act, 2005 (Act 689) has not been reviewed since its enactment in 2005. To realign the rate with current economic realities, the Government, in 2024, will review the rates and fees for stamp duties. The bands subject to ad valorem taxes will be expanded while the specific rates will be reviewed upwards,” he said during the presentation of the 2024 budget in parliament.

Ofori-Atta said a simplified tax return will be introduced as a means of promoting voluntary compliance as part of the modified taxation scheme for individuals in the informal sector. This approach will make it easier for taxpayers to fulfill their tax obligations to the State.

The presentation of the 2024 budget is per Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and Section 21(3) of the PFM Act 2016 (of ACT 921) which requires the minister to provide the fiscal policy of the year contained in the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.

This year's budget will be the first after Ghana signed on to the $3 billion loan facility for economic recovery after being saddled with high debt issues.

This year's budget is also the President's last budget in power. It is expected to address the country's high inflation rates and unstable exchange rates among other economic issues.

SSD/NOQ

Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:



Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.