Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
The Minority caucus in Parliament has taken a swipe at the government following the mid-year budget review presentation submitted by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, said the government missed an opportunity to remove the taxes that Ghanaians expected them to abolish.
He said Ghanaians had expected that the government would have abolished taxes such as the E-levy, the emission levy, and the COVID levy.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament after the mid-year budget statement by Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, the Ejumako Enyan Essian MP slammed the Nana Addo-led administration, accusing it of lacking ideas. He was emphatic that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on its way to opposition.
“At the very least, Ghanaians expected that this mid-year review would have removed or abolished a number of taxes. A number of taxes have made Ghana a high tax regime to the extent that businesses are moving out of this country and the ordinary Ghanaian is living on the shores of this country.
The taxes include COVID levy, E-levy, ‘borla’ tax, tax on domestic electricity, and emission levy. This is a missed opportunity. They are bereft of ideas; you are on your way to opposition,” he said.
He said the minister failed to announce or introduce new policies that could help address the economic crisis confronting the country. Ghana’s economy, he added, is on autopilot, with the government missing its targets for the International Monetary Fund programme.
He said that although the IMF has advised against Ghana accumulating arrears clearance, the government has accumulated arrears clearance worth GHC4.5 billion.
