The Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mark Badu-Aboagye, has expressed serious concerns about the escalating burden of both direct and indirect taxes on businesses in the country.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr Badu-Aboagye questioned the sustainability of business profitability in the face of increasing costs and taxes.
He argued that taxes have become an albatross on business growth.
“I think that our taxes have become more of a punishment to businesses than to support them. This is because we cannot pay, but they’re expecting you to pay.
“They are beating us but they are telling us to keep quiet,” he said on Thursday.
The CEO underscored the importance of not just introducing new taxes but also focusing on their efficiency and impact on businesses.
He emphasized the detrimental effect of the continuous introduction of new taxes, expressing the belief that these measures are ultimately hindering rather than promoting business growth.
“Businesses are suffering. Businesses cannot pay this tax. Businesses are just not making enough revenue to be able to pay this tax,” he told host George Wiafe.
Drawing attention to the economic indicators, he cited the GDP as a key measure of the state of businesses in Ghana.
Mr Badu-Aboagye highlighted the concerning trend in the growth of GDP, indicating that most sectors are not performing well.
According to him, the industry sector, in particular, has recorded negative growth consistently throughout 2023, revealing the overall challenges faced by businesses.
“As of the third quarter of 2023, the growth of GDP was 2%. And when you look at the details you will realise that most of the sectors are not doing well. Consistently from the beginning of the year to now. The industry sector has recorded negative growth. It’s only in the last quarter that the manufacturing sector recorded a 2% growth. So it shows clearly that businesses are not doing well.
“If they are doing well, they produce a lot and by multiplying it by the market value, you will see that your GDP will go higher. So it’s not far-fetched, if the government wants to know the state of businesses in Ghana, just check the GDP.”