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In This Issue...Links to the News:
March 11, 2016
Limit tax exemptions, says Deputy
Finance Minister
Accra, Nov. 17, GNA - Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, a Deputy
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Friday called
for a limit on tax exemptions granted to public and private
institutions.
He singled out diplomatic exemptions and said it was
contributing significantly to the heavy financial loss on
the state.
Dr Osei took on Parliament for also taking in too much
exemptions and granting exemptions that were becoming
uncomfortable to bear.
He said there was nowhere in the world where diplomatic
exemptions were without limits. " In this country, we allow
people, including people who make huge sums of money to
enjoy exemptions without having to pay required sums
stipulated by law."
Dr Osei, NPP-Old Tafo was contributing to a statement by Mr
Kwadwo Agyei-Aidoo, the Vice Chairman of the Finance
Committee, which sought to make the revenue collection
agencies increase their collection base, boost targets and
help meet national goals.
The statement also looked at means of simplifying tax
payments and to seek how to reduce Ghana's reliance on donor
support.
He said issues of exemptions and their quantum were
gradually taking a heavy toll on government finances and
called on Parliament to take immediate action to arrest the
situation.
To this Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, NDC Ningo Prampram, rose to
ask if exemptions were not granted by and to the Executive
and therefore the Deputy Minister's call should be
redirected to the Executive for action.
But Dr Osei argued that it was not necessarily so. "Even
then, I believe that we need to take a common stand on
working to achieve increased domestic revenue mobilization."
Earlier, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, NDC-Upper West Akim, said
the revenue agencies must work at ensuring that the monies
they collected was beyond what they used as operational
expenses to cover capital expenses.
He described the withholding tax concept as a lazy man's way
of collecting tax and asked the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning and the agencies to find a better way of
raking in funds from people that would make refunds
possible.
Mr Sallas-Mensah said the current exercise of collating a
national identification system would be in futility if the
issue on household numbering were not addressed.
"If this problem is not addressed, the problem of bounced
cheques of tax payable by institutions, companies and
individuals would remain as the owners cannot be
identified."
He said at the begining of each year, the Internal Revenue
Service for instance, was expected to raise provisional
figures for businesses.
"But this is not done. Provisional assessments do not come
until as late as August when the state would be in dire need
of revenue."
Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, NPP-Asokwa, was upbeat about the need
for the implementation of the house numbering scheme that he
stressed was vital for the success of the national
identification project.
He said with the advent of information technology, people's
homes and addresses could be found at the click of a button
and urged the authorities to wake up to it.
Mr Lee Ocran, NDC-Jomoro, called on government to simplify
tax processes and procedures to make tax collection less
cumbersome and attractive to all.
"We must make the tax forms and other documentation such as
registration processes simple and not a form of punishment."
On the argument that tax registration was cumbersome and
should be simplified, Dr Osei urged the house to avoid
oversimplifying the tax collection and registrations process
since it had the potential of opening the system to abuse.
GNA
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