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The Minority in Parliament has vowed to reject the three new revenue Bills expected to be presented to the House today, March 31.
Government is seeking to raise some GH¢4 billion from the Income Tax Amendment Bill, Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.
Government says the new revenue Bills are part of moves to secure the IMF balance of payment support.
MP for Tamale Central, Murtala Mohammed said the Minority will reject the Bills.
“We think that it’s unacceptable to burden the already burdened Ghanaians with such taxes. And in any case, there’s no reason the government will burden Ghanaians with more taxes. These taxes have nothing to do with the IMF arrangements, but that’s the story peddled out there. Sometimes one gets extremely worried. But the good thing is that this voting is not going to be done through secret balloting, but an open ballot. So we are just hoping that we will get the 137 votes,” MP for Tamale Central said.
The government fears failing to pass the new tax bills on Friday will jeopardize the country’s chances of a quick economic recovery and Board approval for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, is concerned that if these bills are not passed, plans to raise money to supplement domestic revenue will be thwarted.
“If we don’t do what we have to do for the country, we will have major challenges. So, this is a set of measures we must ensure is worth passing. This is a major bridge we have to cross in closing this revenue gap and ensure that there is more liquidity”, he stressed.
He appealed to the Minority in Parliament to support the passage of the revenue bills currently before the house in order to help the government secure the $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
