Covid-19 Tax Waiver: Is President Akufo-Addo Too Smart?

As the novel coronavirus continues to bite, the president and leader of Ghana’s arm forces reluctantly took off initial tax waivers that he placed on salary of health workers across all levels. The unsolicited decision by the president did not go down well with health workers, especially nurses.

During one of his visit to the Ashanti region, a province noted as the hub of the elephant party, the president had a shock of his life when some group of nurses booed at him. Not long ago, nurses and other allied health workers declared a nationwide strike over poor condition of services and other unsatisfied treatment.

Interestingly, the president during the covid-19 initiated 19th address to the nation, ironically reinstated the tax waiver to ‘poor’ health workers, attracting a mixed reactions.

Many are asking and wondering about the rationale behind the president’s decision. As the 2020 elections dangle closer with uncertainty, all means and ways are employed by all politicians in making sure that victory doesn’t slip.

Undoubtedly, the ruling party will be a bigger beneficiary in distributing the nation’s resources for political gains. As the elections fever blows deeper and wider, the president will do what he thinks can win him and his party electoral victory.

Has the president just pulled one of the strategies in making sure he retains power? Will the reinstatement of the tax waiver be a good ground to cultivate votes within the health sector? The public is free to guess.

In any case, the president and his team decided to withdraw the waiver for a reason, although Ghanaians were denied knowledge of that very reason. But what at all is pushing the president and the NPP into reintroducing the waiver?.

The reason to reintroduce the tax waiver by the president cannot escape that of politics. So, is the president too smart in taking this U-turn decision? Abugri from Bugri wants to know.