Tax reliefs won’t hurt NDC – Fifi Kwetey

Spokesperson for the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) manifesto, Fifi Kwetey has said John Dramani Mahama’s promise of providing tax reliefs to Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) will not hurt the country’s revenue.

According to him, the NDC will be able to achieve more than the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government even with reduced income.

The party’s flagbearer, John Mahama, promised policies that will help businesses to recover from COVID-19 shocks.

“Beginning 2021 and into the medium-term, an NDC government will offer several tax reliefs to the private sector, especially MSMEs to enable them to recover and get back to their full operating capacities. Small businesses will be exempted entirely from corporate and personal income taxes. Newly-established medium-sized companies that employ up to 20 staff will be exempted entirely from paying corporate income tax for one year. Corporate income tax for medium-size companies will be reduced from the current 25 percent to 15 percent,” he said.

There have been concerns about the promises of the NDC lacking a financial plan.

However, Fifi Kwetey insisted that the party will be able to broaden the tax base while containing the tax rate.

“Let’s appreciate the fact that we are talking about an economy that, over the last three and a half years, has had a resource envelope of roughly ¢70 billion. And that is a massive resource envelope. Unfortunately, our friends who have been in charge have not been able to do even a fraction of what we did in four years with just ¢190 billion. With that efficiency, we are capable of achieving far more with even fewer resources,” he told Citi News.

The National Democratic Party (NDC) on Monday, September 7, launched its 2020 manifesto ahead of the December 7 polls.

Dubbed, the ‘People’s Manifesto: Jobs, Prosperity and more’, the latest document is expected to address all “the felt needs of the people”.