The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), Joseph Paddy insists most businesses in Ghana are struggling to break even because of the introduction of numerous taxes by the government.
He revealed nuisance taxes that were removed by the government a while back have been reintroduced and are slowly killing businesses in the country.
The businessman admits government needs revenue to undertake developmental projects in the country but argues the introduction of taxes, when businesses are suffering, especially when they are now finding their feet after COVID-19 is rather insensitive.
“When a government needs money for development, it doesn’t need to slap taxes on the people. We pay service fees of about USD9,000 as freight charges and this is aside duties. We don’t fight for a reduction in these charges and taxes because of our profit margins but for the consumers’ sake. When we say things have become expensive in Ghana it is not because we are trying to make profit.
We are doing business in the country but we are not growing nor making profit. Instead of government focusing on helping us grow they keep taxing us, and if they milking us we will not survive. As we speak now most businesses are in the morgue,” he shared in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
With the COVID-19 pandemic having affected businesses immensely, he believes the government should have found measures to support businesses rather than increase their taxes.
According to him, local businesses do not need capital from the government to survive, but called on it to introduce policies to help them grow. “If you lose Ghc3 million and the government decides to give you Ghc20,000 that will not be enough to grow your business. We rather need favorable policies to survive and this include the removal or suspension of taxes and gov’t giving us moratorium. We don’t need taxes to be increased at a time like this. We are not talking about money but the deliberate introduction of policies to ease the cost of doing business in Ghana.”
“If you need our taxes to survive then why don’t you let those paying the taxes grow so you get the money to undertake the developmental projects you require,” he tasked government.
GUTA made this position in anticipation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government presentation to be held on the 17th of November 2021.which were removed by the government a while back have been reintroduced and are slowly killing businesses in the country.
The businessman admits government needs revenue to undertake developmental projects in the country but argues the introduction of taxes, when businesses are suffering, especially when they are now finding their feet after COVID-19 is rather insensitive.
“When a government needs money for development, it doesn’t need to slap taxes on the people. We pay service fees of about USD9,000 as freight charges and this is aside duties. We don’t fight for a reduction in these charges and taxes because of our profit margins but for the consumers’ sake. When we say things have become expensive in Ghana it is not because we are trying to make profit.
We are doing business in the country but we are not growing nor making profit. Instead of government focusing on helping us grow they keep taxing us, and if they milking us we will not survive. As we speak now most businesses are in the morgue,” he shared in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
With the COVID-19 pandemic having affected businesses immensely, he believes the government should have found measures to support businesses rather than increase their taxes.
According to him, local businesses do not need capital from the government to survive, but called on it to introduce policies to help them grow. “If you lose Ghc3 million and the government decides to give you Ghc20,000 that will not be enough to grow your business. We rather need favorable policies to survive and this include the removal or suspension of taxes and gov’t giving us moratorium. We don’t need taxes to be increased at a time like this. We are not talking about money but the deliberate introduction of policies to ease the cost of doing business in Ghana.”
“If you need our taxes to survive then why don’t you let those paying the taxes grow so you get the money to undertake the developmental projects you require,” he tasked government.
GUTA made this position in anticipation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government presentation to be held on the 17th of November 2021.
Source: happyghana.com