Stephen Amoah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nhyiaeso, has slammed Ghanaians who worry about the Akufo-Addo government’s tax hikes, claiming that taxes are the bedrock of the country’s progress.
He claimed that the government has no choice but to tax the people in order to fulfill the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) commitments in the run-up to the 2020 election.
Mr. Amoah made the point while commenting on the ratification of the 2022 budget and economic policy on Tonton Sansan on TV XYZ on Thursday morning.
Parliament is currently divided over the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs’ rejection of the budget on Friday.
On Tuesday, while the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, presided over proceedings, the NPP MPs held a counter-sitting and approved the budget that had been rejected.
Mr Amoah, speaking on the subject, informed host Prince Minkah that the taxes must be approved by Parliament in order for the government to begin work on the projects planned for 2022.
When asked about the NPP’s commitment in 2016 to shift the country’s economic pillars from taxing to output, the Nhyiaeso MP, one of the government’s finance spokespersons, said in Akan that “people making such argument are dumb.”
“You moan all the time that the government isn’t broadening the tax base, but you’re afraid to pay taxes.” How can we grow our country if we don’t pay taxes?” He interrogated.
During the 2016 election campaign, Dr. Bawumia slammed the NDC administration for egregious mishandling of the Ghanaian economy, despite the introduction of a slew of new levies and increases to existing ones.
He claimed that the taxes had raised the burden on the private sector and acted as a big deterrent to production, but that the New Patriotic Party would change that.
He stated that the NPP government, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, intended to shift the focus away from excessive taxation and toward providing the necessary incentives for productive activities to thrive, as well as helping to create employment opportunities to address the country’s escalating unemployment problem.
But, contrary to what Dr. Bawumia kept telling Ghanaians in 2016, Stephen Amoah feels that will only be achievable if Ghanaians pay more taxes.
