Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson has accused the government of granting tax exemptions worth an estimated GH5.5 billion to New Patriotic Party (NPP) associated enterprises under the One District One Factory scheme (1D1F).
According to him, the government jas submitted several MoUs before the Finance Committee for the granting of $449 million in tax exemptions to 47 corporations.
“This government has presented a number of memoranda through Parliament to the Finance Committee, of which 47 companies under One District One Factory, one is given tax exemptions worth $449 million equivalent to 5.5 billion Ghana cedis,” he alleged.
He served notice the Minority will oppose these requests when they are brought before the plenary.
“Our position is we will never have a conversation on these new taxes until they have withdrawn all of these tax exemptions because it’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul. They’re asking you to pay these taxes. But in the end, they are taking your taxes and giving it to cronies of this administration,” he alleged.
“So I can assure you that some of the companies they are giving exemptions to, they claim that they have items at the port and they will need to clear them for them to be able to finish their factory. We did background checks, and the items have already been cleared and the factory has already been completed. So it is a scam, the whole system is a scam. I call it the new kickback. That’s what I call it because you see what is going on under that tax exemption regime is something we need to give some public attention to. It is just not right.
“Today, Ghana is struggling to raise $600 million from the IMF in the second review. The money is here. The money is in this economy, but you are giving tax exemptions worth $459 million dollars to ordinary businesses that are closer to the government. So what are we doing?” he asked.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
