Parliament Votes On Outstanding Tax Bills Today
Parliament is expected to cast votes on the government’s three proposed and outstanding bills today, March 23, 2023.
In February while addressing Parliament on the Domestic debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta said the three tax bills were crucial to the attainment of the bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The bills include the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, Excise Duty & Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bills as well as the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill.
“Mr Speaker, the passage of these Bills will enable the Government to complete four (4) of five (5) agreed Prior Actions in the Staff Level Agreement since Tariff adjustment by the PURC, Publication of the Auditor-General’s Report on COVID-19 Spending, and Onboarding of GETFUND, DACF and Road Fund on the GIFMIS have all been completed.”
“Mr Speaker, I cannot emphasize enough, the need to secure the Board Approval for our IMF Programme by the end of March 2023. I, therefore, entreat the House to prioritise the approval of the outstanding Revenue Bills and the various concessional facilities”, he said while addressing Parliament on Thursday, February 16, 2023, on the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
The plea was reiterated by President Akufo-Addo while delivering a speech on the State of the Nation in Parliament earlier this month.
In an interview, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, justified the need for passage by Parliament.
“This is to support the economy to get back on track and implement the agenda of supporting the vulnerable who have been hit hard by Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war,” she said according to Graphic Online.
“As a country, we need to mobilise our own domestic revenue to pursue our own national development agenda and so these are some of the things we can do to raise revenue. As we speak if you compare the revenue we raise to our GDP we are still way below the West African target of below 16 to 18 per cent we are still doing 13 per cent and so there is more that we feel we can do”, she added.
In a Facebook post, Gabby Otchere Darko, a leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) called for a win for Ghana at the end of today in Parliament.
“Just another day in Parliament. For voting are the approval or otherwise of three crucial revenue bills, new Supreme Court judges and new ministers. May Ghana win. Just another day in Parliament. For voting are the approval or otherwise of three crucial revenue bills, new Supreme Court judges and new ministers. May Ghana win.”
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
