Dr John Ampontuah Kumah
DEPUTY FINANCE Minister Dr. John A. Kumah, has expressed government’s readiness to increase Ghana’s tax capacity to ensure development.
He said government will broaden the tax base and make its administration work more efficiently.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Ashanti Regional Youth Parliament on the theme, ‘The Ghanaian Taxation Systems and Sustainability of Her Development – The Politics and Realities’, Mr. Kumah indicated the country can only develop through taxation.
His comment comes on the back of the proposed E-Levy which has generated a lot of controversies, as the Minority in Parliament has also kicked against it.
According to him, increasing tax revenues has become even more important in the context of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the fiscal deficit forecast at 9.4% of GDP in 2021, and public debt at the end of September estimated at 78% of GDP (or 72% excluding financial sector bailouts and energy sector IPP payments).
He affirmed no country has ever attained sustainable development by depending on aid and not putting in efforts to improve domestic tax revenue mobilisation.
Dr. Kumah added that taxation, in smart economics, has had a wider effect on economic development than any other revenue generation means.
“I dare say that the outcome of the current debate will help to define what kind of country we want; a country where we all share the burden of nation-building or a country of free-riders who pay lip service to development. Let us think on this as we conclude our discourse,” he said.
He has therefore called on Ghanaians to contribute the little they can, as he strongly believes that a little push by citizens through the conscious payment of taxes will play a significant role in the development of Ghana.
BY Daniel Bampoe