The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Stephen Amoah, has highlighted the challenges the government has faced in its quest to create a level playing field in terms of taxation in Ghana.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, the Minister emphasised that the government does not intentionally create tax imbalances to give any entity an unfair advantage in pricing goods on the market.

His comment comes after the President of the Association Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum Akwaboah, painted a gloomy picture of the country’s manufacturing sector under the current regime.

According to him, “The tax system in Ghana today, is not favouring manufacturing at all.”

In response, Dr Amoah explained the complexities of regulating prices in a free-market economy, highlighting that it can be difficult to control prices effectively.

He, however, stressed that this difficulty should not be interpreted as a deliberate effort to favor a particular actor in the same industry solely because they are not fulfilling their tax obligations.

"The level field when it comes to taxes is not that the government is intentionally involved in creating that imbalance for other people to have an undue advantage in terms of pricing policies on the market.

“Mind you, in the first place we are practicing a free market economy, so sometimes, controlling prices will be very difficult. And it is not a deliberate attempt to let one actor within the same industry have an advantage because the person is not paying taxes,” he told host Evans Mensah.

He went on to express the government's commitment to addressing tax evasion issues in the country.

He urged all relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the government to combat the unpatriotic behavior, which, according to him, has significant financial consequences for Ghana.

"I think we as a government and every other stakeholder should help the government to ensure that those who are evading taxes in Ghana will find a way to halt that anti-social behavior. Because it is really costing us a lot," Amoah stressed.