Dr. Gideon Boako, Member of Parliament for Tano North, has called the incoming government’s proposals to remove the E-Levy and betting tax as worrisome.
The congressman was responding to Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Finance Minister-Designate, who promised that the Mahama administration would eliminate these taxes in the first budget.
In a media interview following the Minister-designate’s vetting, he expressed concern about the plans to eliminate taxes.
He said the measure would violate the International Monetary Fund’s arrangements. According to him, the decision to eliminate taxes could jeopardise the nation’s financial obligations.
“We don’t want a situation whereby you give with your left hand and you take with your right hand. They have to be explicit. If they are cutting the taxes, they cut the taxes, they don’t introduce any new taxes, you cannot cancel or scrap e-levy, scrap betting tax, and go behind and create another tax to fill the gap.
“If they indeed want to scrap e-levy, betting tax, the COVID-19, the emission taxes, the only other thing they can do in order to match up with the debt service to revenue ratio as enshrined in the IMF programme and captured in the debt sustainability analysis is to have another tax introduced through the back door to make up for the shortfall. Other than that they do not have any other room.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
