By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament, led by the Minority leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, has hinted plans are far afoot to initiate action for the removal of some taxes introduced by the Nana Addo’s led government.
He explained further that the minority caucus intends to introduce a private member’s bill aimed at repealing the E-levy, emissions tax, and betting tax.
The private member’s bill seeks to compel the government to reconsider these taxes, which are considered nuisance taxes.
The Minority Leader, in his concluding remarks on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Parliament on Monday, 27 February 2024 maintained that the above-mentioned taxes placed a heavy burden on businesses within the country.
Dr Forson expressed hope that the Majority side of the House, which endorsed Dr Bawumia’s stance on removing the e-levy, would also support this bill.
“The unemployment situation in our country is at a crisis point. Mr Speaker the high cost of living has become a nightmare for many people.
This has significantly deteriorated during the depreciation of our currency, especially Mr Speaker’s food inflation.
Sadly a recent World Bank report on food security released on the 13th of November 2023 cited Ghana among the top five countries in the world with the highest food inflation.
Many families in Ghana today cannot put food on the table,” Dr Ato Forson reiterated
The move by the NDC MPs according to sources within the caucus comes at the back of the 2024 New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, recent pledged to eliminate these taxes if elected in the 2024 polls.
For instance, the e-levy, which the minority went to the Supreme Court for its annulment is still pending while the emissions tax, and betting tax have already become contentious issues, but the Minority caucus aid it aims to address them through legislative action.
