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The Minister-designate of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, justified the need to introduce new taxes at a time when Ghanaians face the negative impact of the coronavirus disease.
Responding to a question during his audit Thursday by Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Ofori-Atta said there was a need for Ghanaians to learn to share the burden.
“I think the tax issue can be a stand-alone issue. We have proposed a number of taxes that would affect oil, which would generate revenue for the energy sector.
“We also have a huge sanitation problem and I think it’s a health hazard for days. We are moving forward and there is a war cry for us to unite in growth and transformation.
“We need to create a society in which we share the opportunities as we grow and can also share the burden,” he said, referring to the “WƆN YA WƆ HIƐƐ” budget that the government has designed for the consolidation, completion and continuation.
In his very first commentary on the 2021 budget, he said the budget would propel Ghana into recovery with the new taxes and other programs outlined to generate funds.
The government is seeking parliamentary approval of GHȻ 111.3 billion as total expenditure while expecting total revenue and subsidies of GHȻ 72.1 billion for the year.
Spending for 2021 is also 13% higher than the GHȻ 98.1 billion approved by parliament for 2020.
The budget was dominated by taxes and levies intended to consolidate revenues for 2021 given the negative impact of the pandemic.
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