Minority in Parliament asks President to pay tax

The Minority group in Ghana’s Parliament on Wednesday said the President should lead the pro-tax drive by paying tax himself. They said the Office of the President has all the luxuries, benefits and dignity and, therefore, exempting him from tax will send wrong signals to the ordinary worker who is at all times mandated to pay tax. Dr. Kofi Apraku, Minority Spokesman on Finance, tabled the concerns of the group when the Internal Revenue Bill was debated. The bill proposes, among other things, that certain categories of people, including the President, should be exempted from tax.

It is primarily aimed at amending and consolidating all existing laws relating to Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Gift Tax currently scattered in over 20 pieces of legislation. The House Committee on Finance has already proposed 53 amendments with a number of recommendations including the setting up of a specialised court for tax matters. –