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Finance Minister-designate, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has reaffirmed the National Democratic Congress’ promised to abolish the controversial betting tax, WEindicated that eliminating the 10% betting tax will not greatly affect the nation’s economy. He claims that the tax brings in only 50 million cedis each year, labelling it as a troublesome tax.
In answer to a query from Atiwa West MP Lauretta Korkor Asante during his vetting on Monday, January 13th, Dr. Forson highlighted that although the government is dedicated to revenue generation, raising taxes isn’t always the answer.
Dr. Forson reiterated the government’s pledge to eliminate specific taxes, aligning with President John Dramani Mahama’s campaign commitment.
He said;
I’ve studied the Ghanaian economy for some time, and I can say without hesitation that Ghana has immense potential for tax revenue mobilisation. You don’t necessarily have to increase taxes to raise revenue.
What we need to do is improve complianceI will work with the GRA and the Tax Policy Unit of the Ministry of Finance to ensure we enhance compliance to maximise revenue collection in the medium ter My vision, when approved, is to increase tax revenue from 13.8% of GDP to about 16–18%, so we can compare ourselves to our peers.
Some taxes are not generating the revenue they should. For example, the merchant tax brings in less than 50 million Ghana cedis annually. It’s a nuisance tax. Scrapping 50 million Ghana cedis will not significantly affect the economy, particularly if adjustments are made on the expenditure side.
NKONKONSA.com
