Ghana: We are against tax increases – Imani

IMANI, the think-tank on policies, kicked off the speculation tax increase in the upcoming mid-year budget review.

According to the founding president and CEO of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, The waste in the system could be saved to fund programs instead of increasing the burden on Ghanaians.

Interacting with journalists on the sidelines of Ghana's economic freedom audit in Accra yesterday, he said it would be a serious mistake for the government to introduce additional taxes to support programs such as the 39, secondary high school free (SHS) and the factory of a district one.

"IMANI is against any tax increase especially going to some of the gifts that were promised without any proper means.We do not want that, it will add to the burden that Ghanaians already feel," he said.

IMANI's position comes as a result of speculation that the government intends to introduce additional taxes. Thursday, when Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta presents the balance sheet of the biannual budget in parliament.

Although the government has not been defined, its close badociates have dropped references to sections of Ghanaians. Mr. Cudjoe said that "collusive contracts" and "multimillion contracts" were signed without tender documents while the values ​​of others were being swept away like the Kelni contract. GVG, in addition to

"You can not ask for more money when you know how to bridge these loopholes.You can not ask for more taxes when you have exemptions in the area of ​​nearly 2.6 billion GH ¢ at the end of 2017, when you promised to give only a tax exemption of about 932 million Gh. ¢ To what extent were these exemptions did they add value to the economy? ", he asked.

On free SHS, he said the government was warned to allow parents to pay. other projects and that "you do not need a GH ¢ 1.2 billion bill for free SHS when you donâ € ™ t Nobody asked you to do that, you were given alternatives.

In the case of the single-district single-plant, Mr. Cudjoe said that it did not make economic sense, adding that the program responded to the government's insatiable expansionist agenda.

million. Cudjoe reminded the government of its 2016 campaign promise to reduce the "draconian and hateful" taxes of the previous administration and focus on production.

The forum, attended by academics, industry, government, civil society These organizations were intended to audit economic policies in Ghana to increase economic freedom.

Organized by IMANI, the Frazier Institute and other partners, the audit is based on the World Economic Freedom Index 2017. A report including recommendations would be in a Exposed on the index of the world's economic freedom, Fred McMahon, a resident fellow at the Frazier Institute, revealed that Ghana ranked 103rd. He said the government needed to put in place stringent measures to improve the key areas of the index that were the size of the government, the legal systems and property rights, a healthy currency, the freedom of He said that the government should verify its expenditures and ensure that tax exemptions not only favored the rich, noting that economic freedom was a prerequisite for civil liberty, poverty reduction and development.