The government is determined not to overburden Ghanaians with the payment of more taxes, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Finance Minister, has assured.
Rather, the government would ‘use the hard way’ to collect revenue from those who have not been paying the appropriate taxes, as well as those who have been evading taxes in the country.
Dr Amin Adam said this during a press briefing on Saturday, April 13, after Ghana reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
The Minister noted that the suspension of the 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumption and GHS100 annual levy on owners of petrol and diesel vehicles, had created a GHS1.8 billion revenue gap.
He indicated that there was an urgent need to increase revenue in line with the implementation of the US$3 billion loan-support programme, but the government was also being careful not to burden the few Ghanaian taxpayers.
As such, the government would be resolute in ensuring the effective implementation of revenue generation mechanisms announced, both in the 2023 and 2024 budgets, but lacked effective implementation.
