‘GRA’s harassment, Akufo-Addo’s draconian taxes have reduced Ghana’s trade volume drastically’ — IEAG

The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has expressed disappointment and lack of faith in Vice President and NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

This comes after years of what they describe as nuisance taxes and harassment by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that have hurt businesses.

In a statement, IEAG accused Dr. Bawumia of only recently finding his voice to criticize GRA practices, despite such issues existing for several years with little action from his office.

"The constant harassment by the GRA coupled with most of these nuisance taxes introduced by the Nana Addo-led government of which the Vice president at a point in time was the head of the Economic Management Team, have done more harm than good to the business community," said Samson Asaki Awingobit, Executive Secretary of the IEAG.

The statement noted that currently, Ghana's trade volume has reduced drastically as importers and exporters prefer neighboring ports in Ivory Coast and Togo to escape what they call the "draconian taxes" piled on by the Akufo-Addo administration.

The importers' group questioned what prevented Dr. Bawumia from speaking out against these taxes and GRA practices over the past 7 years.

They said the vice president is now only voicing concerns as an attempt to "redeem his image" and improve his chances in upcoming elections.

Read the full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE
WE WILL NOT BE MISLED FOR THE THIRD TIME WITH YOUR SUDDEN FOUND VOICE ‘MR VICE PRESIDENT’

The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has been following with keen interest, recent comments made by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia, which seeks to criticize the operations of the Ghana Revenue Authority through the use of unhealthy practices in the collection of taxes from businesses to meet targets.

It is quite worrying and surprising to hear the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, coming out now to voice such concerns that have existed for several years with little or no attempt from his good office to addressing them despite several petitions from industry players.

The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana can best describe the Vice President’s recent stand as a populist attempt to redeem his image in the eyes of the business community, considering the fact that he as a Vice president kept mute on this issue among other issues for the past 6 years failing to prompt the Ghana Revenue Authority on the need to change their modus of tax collection which has forced many businesses out of the country.

It will interest the public to note that the constant harassment by the GRA coupled with most of these nuisance taxes introduced by the Nana Addo-led government of which the Vice president at a point in time was the head of the Economic Management Team, have done more harm than good to the business community and a clear example being an unprecedented relocation of business from Ghana to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Togo.

Currently, Ghana’s volume of trade has reduced drastically with Importers and Exporters preferring to transact business in the Ports of neighbouring countries due to the draconian taxes piled up on Importers by the Nana Addo-led regime.

The IEAG would like to find out from the Vice President what prevented him from speaking against these bad practices by the GRA and as well the introduction of unreasonable taxes that have affected goods and services in the past 7 years. Is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia now speaking on these matters because he wants power from the very people he betrayed when he promised to move the country from taxation to production? Has he now found his voice because elections are near and has to do something to improve his chances of becoming the next president?

Ghanaian Importers and Exporters would like to tell Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and his likes that, we will not fall victim to their shenanigans for the third time. We will judge him and others based on their performance and not on deceit-induced campaign promises which will end up becoming another mirage. We rather expect the Vice President to apologize to the business community for reneging on his campaign promises and not this last-minute populist-driven show-off.

Signed
…………………….

Samson Asaki Awingobit
Executive Secretary