Proceeds of new taxes will be used to develop the country - Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister-Designate Ken Ofori-Atta has stated that the new taxes introduced is part of the government's efforts to develop the nation in its second term.

Responding to a series of questions at the Ministerial vetting, Ofori-Atta said the new taxes is a shared responsibility and everyone must carry the burden to ensure development.

“We have proposed a number of taxes that you are aware of, that will affect petroleum which will lead to revenue for a delta fund, for energy, for capacity charges because we continue to have a gap between what ECG should be paying and what the rates are. The new taxes is a battle cry for us to come together to look at growth and transformation as supposed to burn our heads down because of COVID-19.

"The question is whether we can burden share and therefore move to stir the opportunities that will come. Is there ever a good time for taxes, I am not sure anybody will ever say that. Would we use taxes to enhance productivity and growth? I believe we will be able to do that,” he said.

He further stated that “we need to move forward, we need to share the burden, we need to create a society that will share the opportunity as we grow.”

Meanwhile, he noted that the Akufo-Addo government has been very phenomenal about how it handled the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence the new revenue management being rolled out is a step in the right direction to get the country back on the right track again.