An Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin has hit back at the government for seeking to grant ¢12 billion tax exemptions for companies under the One District One Factory (ID1F) programme.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, he said “There is a considerable level of abuse in the name 1D1F. Political abuse.”
According to him, “government is taking advantage of political intervention to milk the system.”
“The point is that if it is that good why not rather close the gap and deploy that revenue efficiently creating a general macro-economic environment that is conducive for businesses whether they are under 1D1F or not.”
Read also: https://www.myjoyonline.com/minority-plans-to-kick-against-gh7-billion-tax-waiver/
His comment follows the Minority in Parliament's claim that the Finance Ministry is seeking more than 7 billion cedis in fresh tax exemption requests despite another 5.5 billion cedis in exemption requests pending.
This 12 billion cedis in tax exemption requests are all before the Finance Committee of Parliament with the Minority blocking the approval of the initial 5.5 billion cedis.
But the Trades Minister in defense of the tax exemptions said they are expected to bolster the government's One District One Factory programme.
Professor Bokpin, on the other hand, says Ghana loses over 5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product annually due to tax exemptions.
This he says is the reason the International Monetary Fund has identified tax exemptions as one of the key issues to be resolved for the country to preserve its revenue base.
“If you look at the 2019 State of the Nation Address, our own president told us what exemption is doing to our revenue base and that by 2018, Ghana lost more than 4.66 billion cedis through one aspect of exemption alone,” he added.
He noted that although there is some conventional wisdom in giving out exemptions, “we are not doing it efficiently and we are not benefiting from the idea that tax expenditures can be used to engineer job creation in certain sectors of the economy but more of abuse.”
In response to the Trade Minister's defense of the entities proposed for tax exemptions, stating that they deserve it as the economy stands a chance to benefit from it, Prof Bokpin questioned how the government tracks the ‘immediate and long-term benefit of the tax exemptions given.
“Who will be monitoring the immediate and long-term benefit? The others who don’t get those exemptions, are they not in here for our long-term economic benefit also? What are the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries?” he questioned.
Latest Stories
-
59 proposals: Why the NPP is overhauling its constitution
2 hours -
Scrap ‘elitist’ Special Electoral College – Sir Obama tells NPP
2 hours -
Erpreben Travel & Tour donates air conditioners to Osu District Police Command
4 hours -
Amewuga campaign fights human trafficking, child marriage, others at Aflao border
4 hours -
WAFCON 2024: Rampant Nigeria smash five past Zambia to reach semis
4 hours -
UCC SRC’s sanitary pad initiative champions dignity and inclusion
4 hours -
Passion to Pouring cocktail tasting event unites culture and creativity in Ho
4 hours -
Ketu South MCE reaffirms pledge to deliver Mahama’s reset agenda
5 hours -
MTNPulse, Stanbic Bank equip youth to build digital brands and businesses
5 hours -
I created ‘Shoulder’ challenge for fun but Medikal compensated me – Dancer Lalli
5 hours -
Students urged to pursue careers in aviation industry
5 hours -
Ghanaian music inspires Jullian Ellison to compose Afro-pop tracks
5 hours -
A/R: Police investigate death of TikTok sensation ‘Atom De Morale Spirit’
6 hours -
My ex-girlfriend left me for a guy with a Corolla – Kuami Eugene
6 hours -
Prosecute 2020, 2024 election offenders swiftly – Interior Minister directs IGP
6 hours