New taxes: The five institutions that have 'fought' government's approval

In the distress of Ghana’s economy, the government has been exploring avenues to raise enough revenue to bring the economy back on track.

One of such avenues is the government’s introduction of three new taxes which was assented to by the president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on April 16, 2023.

These new taxes are; Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022, the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill 2022 and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022.

Ever since, major institution and groups have kicked against the taxes, citing various reasons for their stance.

Five of these organisations are the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Food and Beverages Association (FABAG), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) and the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana.

In this piece, we break down how each of these institutions have expressed their displeasure about the approval of these bills.

Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA):

The president of GUTA, Joseph Obeng, while expressing displeasure about the decision taken by the legislative house said that the business community feels disrespected by the president for assenting the new taxes into laws despite the numerous petitions they have raised against the passage of the bill into law.

As an association, Joseph Obeng, said the business community is against the taxes, explaining that they will only result in an increased cost of doing business and collapse local businesses.

“We have been disrespected, the business community. The norm has been that if a new tax is coming, we all sit down, build a consensus and then we accept it and own it as Ghanaians but you don’t impose any tax on us as it's been done now. It is very unfortunate. We are being sent to the slaughterhouse and somebody needs to be told.”

“We cannot accept this", he said, adding: "This is not fair to us. We’ve sent a petition and, at least, they should have even replied the petition. We haven’t gotten the reply. What kind of democracy are we practicing,” he quizzed.

Association of Ghana Industries (AGI):

At the announcement of the taxes in the 2023 budget by the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in 2022, the president of the AGI, Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke, made aware, the impact the new taxes were going to have on local industries and called on the government to deploy efficient technological means of collecting revenue from existing avenues to cushion the economy.

“We do not expect in this budget that we will see new revenue tax handles. There is so much revenue out there that we expect once you deploy efficient technology means, we can rake in the domestic revenue and correct all the cyclical issues including the forex issues which are all part of the debt sustainability approach. It all comes back to your domestic revenue mobilisation,” he said.

In speaking to parliament select committee on Trade and Industry, he made a strong case against the government’s failure to consult parliament in policy formulations before it comes out into the public.

“When you talk about government policy formulation, the process of formulating policy does not involve parliament. Parliament only hears of that policy for the first time when the budget statement is presented. That is why a week after the budget has been presented, we have a debate, and that debate is basically on the policies of government; the policies which underpin the budget numbers. So, there’s a problem there that when the policy is being formulated, the input of parliament is not sought,” he bemoaned.

Food and Beverages Association (FABAG):

The FABAG stated that the passage of the three new taxes by Parliament is a disincentive to businesses in the country. The president of the association, Sam Aggrey indicated that the move by the government will compound the already hardship in the system.

“It's affecting industries because if you look at the value of the cedi against the dollar which has depreciated so much. Investors then lost almost about 50% of their income within the same period. Instead of us introducing bills that will make them recouped its loss, we are rather forcing them to go down the drain,” he appealed.

Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI):

The GNCCI entreated that the government should focus on tax efficiency and compliance and to increase revenues rather than introduce new taxes that stifle local businesses.

The national president of the chamber, Clement Osei Amoako in addressing the tax indicated the taxes are counter-productive to the private sector. “We cannot ignore the reality that these new taxes are counter-productive, obnoxious and harmful to the development of the private sector,” he said.

To him, the current harsh business environment has resulted in most businesses shutting down, relocating to other countries, or overburdening the consumer with operational costs, and thus urged the government to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana:

Samson Asaki Awingobit, who is the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, on his part, noted that the strength of the local currency against the dollar coupled with the news taxes will bring no benefit to local businesses as touted by the government.

“With inflation high and the cedi steadily deprecating, whereas Bank lending rates have become unattractive, coupled with high utility tariffs which have seen Ghanaian producers passing on the cost to the ordinary consumers,” it fears the worse if these two bills are passed by Parliament,” he said.

For him, the association has lost hope in the government that claimed to protect local businesses.

“We as an association and members of the business community have lost confidence in the Nana Addo-led government and believe it's time the government either charts a new path in restoring the economy or bringing some form of relief to us,” the association continued.

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