A section of the participants
CIVIL SOCIETY Organisations (CSOs) say they support the tax exemptions bill currently before Parliament since it will help to consolidate and rationalise all the tax exemptions in Ghana.
According to the CSOs, the bill can help to shore up national revenue for development.
They also said they are expecting Parliament to pass the bill soon and make it part of the country’s laws.
Bernard Anaba, Policy Analyst at the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), and a member of the Tax Justice Coalition (TJC), disclosed this in an interview at a regional tax dialogue in Cape Coast.
It was organised by the TJC Ghana and its Legislative Advocacy Project partner, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), under the Ghana Revenue Programme.
The dialogue sought to build a civil society alliance for consultations and inputs on the Tax Exemptions Bill and other domestic revenue mobilisation strategies in Ghana.
“You know, we have been talking about the need for more revenue for development and this is one of the ways Government revenue could be increased for more developmental projects.
“We, the CSOs, are for this bill, but we expect some aspects of it to be improved. We are all for this bill and we are expecting that Parliament will pass it and make it part of our laws,” he added.
Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STCCI), on his part, also said the bill is a great one.
He, however, noted that there should be a committee that will go round and ensure that companies that benefit from the tax exemptions are indeed doing the things they have promised to do.
“When we have such a committee in place, it would ensure that what is expected of the beneficiary companies are done,” he added.
He said there is the need to itemise some of the benefits that have to go to the identifiable groups like young graduates and the physically challenged.
He pointed out that clearly, the tax exemptions bill is a great bill, “but we have to make sure it serves us well.”
From Emmanuel Opoku, Cape Coast