Razak Poku
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Razak Poku, has said the new taxes outlined in the 2021 Budget is for the public good and not done deliberately to bring hardship as being claimed by the opposition.
“The outbreak of the Covid-19 has forced fiscal authorities to spend vast sums to protect their citizens and defend their economies from the toll of the disease and the government of Ghana is no exception.
“The plight of the ordinary Ghanaian is a major concern to the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia’s government. This is why the Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) has not increased the utility tariff. Not even 0.001%. So where from the NDC propaganda that the government is taxing Ghanaians because of the provision of free water and electricity during the past Covid-19 period?” he said yesterday.
In his view, the NPP government “is not taking from Ghanaians but adding and supporting to transform their livelihoods,” saying, “The year 2020 presented scaring effects on the global economy after the novel Covid-19. Which country could escape from these effects? Clearly, almost every country is undergoing sluggish economic recovery.”
Mr. Poku said that the posture of the government showed clearly that it was not interested in going on a borrowing spree to rebuild the economy after the Coronavirus pandemic caused havoc but was rather determined to use domestic resources available for the rebuilding exercise.
He said the government was being more pragmatic to ensure the economy was still robust; saying “it is a complete departure from the previous NDC government’s borrowing spree.”
He said there were seven levies introduced in the 2021 Budget and they were all for the public good and mentioned them as COVID-19 Health Levy, Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL), Financial Sector Clean-up Levy, Tax administration, Gaming policy, Road tolls as well as Vehicle Income Tax.
“Under the Planting for Foods and Jobs, the farmers’ access to production inputs increased to 1.4 million and over 1.7 million farmers benefited from subsidised fertilizer,” he said, adding “with the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia’s government industrialization drive under 1D1F, out of the 232 targeted factories, 107 under construction, 76 are operational, 36 commenced construction and 13 are yet to be started.”
He said “these factories would basically process the country’s raw materials produced under the Planting for Foods Jobs. This is a focused government and our beautiful Production Theory proposed by Dr. Bawumia in opposition still holds and in full implementation to drive the economy of Ghana.”
He also said that the GH¢750 million Coronavirus Alleviation Programme – Business Support Scheme (CAP-BuSS) was another laudable initiative by the government to ensure businesses survived around this extra ordinary times.
In effect, the Covid-19 has added close to $20 trillion to the global debt. The fact speaks for itself. In the face of these developments, Ghana, our beloved country, is no exception.