The Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana, has said the government is reintroducing some of the taxes that it described as nuisance and for which it got rid of them.
He says the government should be sensitive to the plight of Ghanaians instead of overburdening them with taxes.
“This is a government that came to power with the slogan that it is coming to reduce taxes and go into production. Today what are we seeing? These were the people who in 2017 described some taxes as nuisance taxes. Today, they are introducing taxes that you cannot even describe. Some of the nuisance taxes they claimed the NDC had introduced, they are bringing them back.
“For instance, in 2024 they are saying that when you take a domestic flight from Tamale to Accra or Accra to Tamale or any other part of this country, you are going to pay a tax on that. This tax, when we suggested it under the NDC administration, it was described as a nuisance tax but today they are seeking to reintroduce it, they think that it is appropriate, and they think that it should be allowed to go through.
“So the Minority, we are saying they should be sensitive to Ghanaians that their tax policies should not be regressive, it should be equitable,” he said on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Wednesday, December 14.
The Minority in Parliament has alleged that the government is seeking to grant substantial tax waivers amounting to GH¢7 billion to individuals associated with the trade industry.
This revelation came amid an existing request for a GH¢5 billion tax waiver before the Finance Committee, purportedly presented as incentive packages for the One District One Factory (1D1F) policy.
Mr Yussif Sulemana who is also a Ranking Member on the Trade and Industry Committee, said during a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, December 13, that the Minority would vehemently oppose any attempt to impose additional regressive taxes on Ghanaians unless the government eliminates these significant tax waivers.
“We have also been reliably informed, and we are speaking because we have seen documents that suggest that they’re bringing another GH¢7 billion tax waiver request to Parliament. Now, if you put the two together, we are talking about GH¢12.5 billion tax exemptions.
“Here, you are trying to grant GH¢12.5 billion to your friends and family members in the name of tax exemptions under 1D1F. At the same time, you are imposing taxes to the tune of GH¢11 billion. Can you juxtapose the two?” he asked.
“We think that it doesn’t make sense to us, and so we are saying that the tax bill that they are going to introduce in this particular budget will face some stiff opposition. We will not sit down and allow them to impose taxes on our people,” he stated.