Government has not introduced three new taxes, says Oppong Nkrumah

The Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said the three revenue bills passed by Parliament last Friday are not new taxes that will over burden Ghanaians in the wake of global economic challenges.

He said the bills rather expanded the revenue base of the country.

Parliament last week passed three revenue bills namely the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, the Excise Duty and Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bill, and the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill.

The bills were given the green light after a majority decision of 137-136 on Friday 31 March 2023. Government is seeking to generate approximately GHC4 billion a year to supplement domestic revenue following the passage of the three bills.

Some business groups in the country including the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) have kicked against the development, saying it will lead to collapse of businesses.

However, appearing on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (3 April), Nkrumah said: “…These three revenue bills that have just been passed by Parliament are actually not three new taxes.”

“The Income Tax Act already exist, the Excise Duty Levy Act already exist and the Fiscal Responsibility Act already exist. The view of the fiscal policy managers is that there are some categories of persons and some transactions that are not covered by these already existing acts.

“And therefore, it’s important to expand the base and include those ones in these already existing revenue measures,” Nkrumah added.