Deputy Finance Minister-designate Thomas Nyarko Ampem has assured that the government will not introduce any new taxes in the upcoming budget, despite concerns raised by the Minority. The Minority claimed that the government plans to impose new taxes to raise approximately 200 billion cedis this year.
Nyarko Ampem addressed these concerns by emphasizing that the government’s priority will be on improving tax compliance and expanding the tax base, rather than introducing new levies. “The Finance Minister has stated this repeatedly—we do not need to impose new taxes to increase revenue. Our focus will be on broadening the tax base and enhancing compliance. You will hear more about this in the upcoming budget presentation, and you will see the results.”
He also highlighted the need for Ghana to maximize its economic rent from industries, given the country’s limited access to international bond markets. v“In fact, he hinted that as a country, we are not taking advantage of the economic rent that we are supposed to generate revenue from through the exploiting of industry…
To be honest with you, because we have been denied access to the international bond market, we have to do two things—enhance revenue and also manage expenditure,” he stated. Nyarko Ampem reiterated that the budget, set to be presented to Parliament on March 11, will focus on strengthening domestic revenue mobilization without burdening citizens with new taxes.
