Mid-year budget will worsen Ghanaians – Minority

General News of Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-07-30

The minority in Parliament said that Ken Ofori-Atta's mid-year budget review, presented by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, was empty and hopeless and would worsen the plight of Ghanaians.

Increased levy on the energy and communications tax sector would result in higher food prices, transportation rates and communication costs.

Minority Members of Parliament (MP) accused the government of raising taxes to oppose its previous position of switching from taxation to post-production taxation.

Finance Committee Member and Minority Finance Spokesperson Cbadiel Ato Forson; the chief bad in the majority, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka; South Ketu MP and former Minister of Transport, Mr. Fifi Kwetey, and the highest member of the Parliament's Energy Committee, Mr. Adam Mutawakilu, said this in separate talks with the Daily Graphic, a few moments after the presentation of the mid-year budget yesterday.

More taxes

Leading the minority argument, Mr Forson said the government was going to look at the tax data and said that "if they tax data, they will tax WhatsApp, it's about A tax on Facebook, a tax on Instagram and a Twitter tax ".

In addition, he added, the government has not kept its promise to remove the tax on the energy sector, but rather increased it.

"These taxes will create additional difficulties for the ordinary Ghanaian, because we know that if you increase fuel taxes, it will affect everything, truck prices and food," he said.

Grants to blame

Mr. Forson, NDC deputy for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, said that the country was in the current situation because of subsidies and that the government had not taken into account the warning of the minority against subsidies.

He added that the government had promised to switch from income taxation to post-production taxation, "but today it is moving to more taxes."

He said the government was distorting the facts by saying that it subsidizes power.

"But today, the government says poor Ghanaians will pay for wealthy Ghanaians who benefit from oil prices.

"What we have witnessed today shows that fuel prices will rise as of August 1, 2019. Gasoline will increase by about 1 GH ¢, that of diesel by about 1 "and LPG about 1.4", he said.