Deputy Minority Chief Whip Ibrahim Ahmed has called on the government to examine tax exemptions for businesses in the country properly.

Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, he explained that granting too many tax waivers, especially to some multinationals, can disadvantage Ghanaian businesses in the same sector.

Mr Ahmed said that “the task waiver business has become a gold man in the Ministry of Trade. We need to examine and analyse the task exemption holistically. Have you been hearing the cry of GUTA (The Ghana Union of Traders Association)? Why is it that the things that GUTA brings are more expensive than the things that the shopping malls bring?"

"Is it not the same market that they go and import the things from? But the trick is your mother who goes to China, brings them in smaller quantities and cannot go to the Ministry of Trade to ask for tasks waivers. But multinational corporations who are able to deal with the things in bulk quantities will come to you that ‘I need a task waiver on this’.”

“Maybe, the things they need may be three, then they say, ‘this contract you are giving me, I'm going to use about 10 of such things’. Then you're giving tasks waiver on 10. Then the remaining seven will find themselves on the open market at a cheaper rate,” Mr Ahmed indicated.

The Deputy Minority Chief Whip stated that this adversely affects smaller Ghanaian businesses that offer the same services or products.

As a result of paying taxes on the goods they import, these businesses risk increasing prices to break even or make a profit, he noted.

“So your mother who used to go to the same market to bring the things, because of the tax component, her goods become more expensive. Very soon, she'll be driven out of business,” he said.

This comes after the Finance Committee was tasked to review once again a request by the Finance Ministry to grant some 42 companies tax waivers.

In 2021, the Ministry of Finance initiated processes to secure tax exemptions for 42 companies under the government's One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative. 

• Read More: Afenyo-Markin justifies $449m tax waiver request for 1D1F businesses

The Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083), was presented to Parliament by the former Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in 2022.

Among the companies awaiting these exemptions, Sentuo Oil Refinery Limited stands out with the highest requested amount of $164,633,012.00.

Meanwhile, Mr Ahmed told Evans Mensah that Parliament’s due diligence saw the waiver drop to about $335 million from $449 million.

• Read More: Full list of 42 companies seeking $335m tax waiver

Mr Ahmed claimed that the Finance Committee led by Kwaku Kwarteng interrogated some of the companies.

"Most of the companies had understated their stated capital. When you understate your capital, it has an impact on the task waiver that you're seeking."

As such, he noted that these companies were asked to revise their documents and reassess them before submitting them to the committee.