New taxes: Government want citizens to share the burden of the economy recovery program — Oppong Nkrumah

Government is urging Ghanaians to support it in its quest to come up with measures to reshape the economy in the post-COVID-19 recovery plans.

This call was made by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah arguing that the introduction of new taxes by the government was very necessary to revamp the economy that has suffered the trauma of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah in an interview with Joy news monitored by Modernghana News said “It is fair for people to focus on the tax measures and ask questions about it. But this budget does not only introduce these revenue measures. The revenue measures are necessary because we are at a fiscal deficit of 11 to almost 12%. Debt to GDP is around 70%, in nominal terms 291 billion cedis.

“The option any government will have under these circumstances are to find creative ways of raising revenue and gradually bring back the debt and deficit to a more responsible position. There are a multiplicity of reasons for which we are here. Key among them is the COVID challenges that we are in now. If you look at what COVID has done, it has moved us from 5% to 11% and extra 6% of GDP”.

The 2021 budget statement read by the majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, proposed new taxes.

These taxes are the petroleum taxes, the 1% COVID-19 Health Levy on VAT Flat Rate Scheme and the 1% on the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL).

When quizzed about citizens’ concerns on the said fresh taxes, the information minister said the taxes are necessary to help the country recover from the shocks the economy experienced due to COVID-19.

He explained that “we cannot escape the fact that we have to share the burden at this point in time. The real focus for me is that we gather around holding the government accountable for using the money for that which it claims it is going to use it for. If you are going to increase road tolls, if all of us are going to see an improvement in the road conditions, the road contractors are been paid, they are finishing the road projects on which they are, I am not sure we will worry as much as we worry today”.