On Tuesday, Parliament initiated discussions concerning the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.

This review had been introduced to the House by Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, on Monday, July 31.

Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Kwarteng, the Chairperson of the Finance Committee, commenced the debate and expressed his opposition to the practice of providing tax exemptions to both individuals and corporate entities.

He reiterated that exempting individuals in the name of investment promotion created two problems; “the first is that we deny Ghana the opportunity of communicating that our investment climate is friendly because the taxes are in place”.

“But more importantly, Mr Speaker, by encouraging the practice of selecting individuals and exempting them from taxation, we are creating the opportunity for corruption.”

“I take this opportunity again to call on not just the Government but also on ourselves to ensure we get everybody to pay taxes.”

He emphasized the importance of each individual contributing their equitable portion of taxes and underlined that any reduction in taxes should apply universally.

Mr. Kwarteng pointed out that the habit of delaying tax payments while simultaneously granting specific individuals exemptions from these obligations was counterproductive.

We should tell everybody, Mr Speaker, to contribute to our efforts at mobilising domestic revenue.”

He urged Ghanaians, especially politicians, to stop prophesying doom for the nation’s economy, adding; “whilst our government is making the effort to ensure a vibrant economy for us, we sit here and we make damning statements about our own economy, just because we want to achieve political ends”.

He encouraged fellow Parliamentarians to engage in constructive debates that promote the enhancement of the economy, rather than adopting a pessimistic outlook.

He urged them to concentrate on promoting Ghana's economic strengths and garnering international backing to help the nation achieve sustainable self-reliance instead of depending solely on aid.

Recalling his earlier statement on July 19, 2022, Mr. Ofori-Atta informed Parliament that Ghana had incurred losses of GH¢27 billion due to tax exemptions between 2008 and 2020. This decline, he stated, led to the country's revenue dropping to approximately GH¢1.8 billion in 2020.