New taxes: We need to burden-share – Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori Atta has justified the introduction of the new taxes in the budget statement for the 2021 fiscal year.

Answering questions relating to the introduction of the new taxes during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, March 25, Mr Ofori-Atta said “Not everything is gone up. We need to burden share, we need to move forward.”

The government is proposing in the 2021 budget statement the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19.

“To provide the requisite resources to address these challenges and fund these activities, the government is proposing the introduction of a Covid-19 Health Levy of a one percentage point increase in the National Health Insurance Levy and a one percentage point increase in the VAT Flat Rate to support expenditures related to Covid-19,” the budget said.

The government received flak for these new taxes at a time scores of Ghanaians cost of living has gone up following the impact of the COVDI-19.

For instance, a financial analyst with Dalex Finance, Mr Joe Jackson, said the 2021 budget statement is not bold enough.

He said given the situation the local economy is faced with following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the government should have been bold enough to borrow more to deal with the ravages of the pandemic.

Prior to the budget reading, Mr Jackson had asked the government to borrow more to deal with the effect of the pandemic.

Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, March 13, Mr Jackson said “Nothing has changed. We are as broke as we were before Covid.”

He added “It is not bold enough. it is the easy way out because it only introduced taxes.”

A lawmaker for Tamale North, Alhasan Suhuyini has said “The government introduced burdensome taxes on some companies already overburdened by COVID. There is the tax on sanitation that we are going to deal with. There is also the Covid levy for us to pay.

“How much more can one be insensitive? As a people, we have already paid for Covid by the loved ones lost and by businesses that have been lost.”