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With barely few hours for Parliament to go on Easter break, three outstanding tax measures have still not been approved.
The bills are; the Income Tax Amendment Bill, the Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and the Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.
The tax measures, when passed, are expected to generate about GH¢4 billion annually. However, members of the Minority Caucus are insisting that they will not support the passage of the taxes.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday, the Information Minister, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was optimistic that the Minority MPs will help approve the tax measures before the House proceeds on recess.
“Well, I am not a soothsayer, but we are hopeful that looking at the necessity of these measures, our colleagues on the other side will work with us to ensure that we pass this bill. So that we can close the chapter of what Ghana needs to do and then try and conclude on what the external assurances ought to be, so that we move on,” he said.
According to him, the Majority side will continue to engage with the Minority to “explain to them that it is important that we all rally behind the red, gold, green with the black star in the middle tonight.”
When asked about government’s assessment of the possible impact of the bills, the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP said: “These are more or less prior action that we’ve already committed to, we’ve laid before the House – the policy has been approved as part of the budget itself. But because they are revenue measures …there is the appropriation and the financing.
“The policy has been approved, the appropriation has been approved but for the revenue measures, we have to come with the specific bills. Those bills have been laid, they’ve come to committee. At the Committee level, we made some recommendations on amendment. We also understand that some of our colleagues in the Minority have also proffered some other amendment when the bills get on the floor.
“Our expectation, prayer, hope is that we will have that forward conversation on how far we have come at the consideration stage and when we take it clause by clause …so that in the end, we pass the amendment in the best form possible.”
On the same programme, the Ho Central MP, Benjamin Kpodo said the NDC MPs maintain their stance on the issue.
According to him, the passing of the revenue measures will impose more difficulties on Ghanaians.
He proposed that government should cut down on its expenditure.
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