The Eastern Regional office of the New Patriotic Party, NPP has reacted positively to the 2024 “Nkunim” budget statement presented to Parliament on Wednesday.
In a press statement by the regional Communication Director, Jacob Osei Yeboah on Thursday, the party is happy Government has reduced and also scrapped some taxes to cushion Ghanaians.
Full statement below:
NPP ER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORATE
2024 BUDEGT: TAX RELIEFS
The focus of the NPP government has been on moving from taxation to production since 2017. This is evident in the many tax reliefs this government has implemented upon assumption of office. It would be recalled that in the first year of the NPP, over 15 taxes were abolished or reduced significantly to encourage growth, through and through.
It is important to underscore that the advent of the twin global crisis that destabilized Ghana’s fiscal situation — revenues plummeted as expenditure galloped significantly — meant that government introduce a couple of taxed in 2021 and 2022, as it was the case in all developed and emerging economies, to support economic recovery.
As the economic recovery continues and our prospects improve, government is keen on advancing its core agenda of moving the economic from taxation to production.
From the foregoing, government has introduced the following tax reliefs to cushion Ghanaian businesses and improve living conditions;
- Extend zero rate of VAT on locally manufactured african prints for two (2) more years;
- Waive import duties on import of electric vehicles for public transportation for a period of 8 years;
- Waive import duties on semi-knocked down and completely knocked down Electric vehicles imported by registered EV assembly companies in Ghana for a period of 8 years;
- Extend zero rate of VAT on locally assembled vehicles for 2 more years;
- Zero rate VAT on locally produced sanitary pads;
- Grant import duty waivers for raw materials for the local manufacture of sanitary pads;
- Grant exemptions on the importation of agricultural machinery equipment and inputs and medical consumables, raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry;
- A VAT flat rate of 5 percent to replace the 15 percent standard VAT rate on all commercial properties will be introduced to simplify administration.
Today, the number of taxes and the associate burden of Ghanaians and businesses is undoubtedly lesser than what prevailed under the NDC administration.
Thank you
Evans Osei Yeboah TSOOBOI
(ER Communications Officer, NPP)
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
