Ato Forson Says Gov’t Fiscal Measures Are Cosmetic & Empty
Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam constituency in the Central Region of Ghana, Cassiel Ato Forson has described as cosmetic and empty, the measures of the government to mitigate economic hardship.
The former deputy Finance Minister noted that the measures will, rather, take away confidence in Ghana’s economy.
“The fiscal measures announced today are just cosmetic and Empty. It will further erode confidence in the economy”.
The Bank of Ghana announced that the downgrades of Ghana by Fitch and Moody’s resulted in the exit of offshore investors in domestic securities.
According to Ato Forson who is also the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, the government should rather place a moratorium on new loans, cut 2022 foreign-financed projects by at least 50%, and deliver on the promise to review all flagship programmes.
The Fiscal Measures of the government announced on March 24 by Ken Ofori Atta, the Finance Minister included:
i. Begin the implementation and collection of the revised Property Rate by end of April 2022;
ii. implement the E-VAT/E-Commerce/E-Gaming initiatives by end of April 2022;
iii. roll out the simplified tax filing mobile application for all eligible taxpayers by July 2022; iv. impress upon Parliament to fast track the passage of the E-Levy Bill, Tax Exemptions Bill, and Fees and Charges Bill;
v. prioritise the Revenue Assurance, Compliance, and Enforcement (RACE) Programme to plug revenue leakages, especially at the ports and the infamous fuel bunkering and small scale mining exporters cabal;
vi. government will partner the private sector to introduce digital systems to monitor quarrying, sand winning and salt winning to get more revenues from our natural resources;
vii. immediately enforce the “No Duty – No Exit” policy at the MPS Terminal at the Tema Port to improve revenue collection.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
