Businessman, Akwasi Addae Odike, has taken to the cleaners, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, for claiming that traders exploit Ghanaians and have no moral right to complain about taxes.

He said, ‘Joe Wise’ as he is popularly known, should be the last person to chastise and criticise the traders union because, he has no ethics neither is he qualified to do so.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament said in a TV interview on Monday, April 17, 2023, that members of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) have no moral rights to accuse government of exploiting Ghanaians and business.

“GUTA are always talking about taxes, and yet they are over-exploiting Ghanaians, and I’m saying this without fear,” the Bekwai MP stated.

Meanwhile, the Union in a statement has described the MP as “arrogant, ignorant and disrespectful” and further demanded from him, an unqualified apology but the lawmaker is yet to respond to demands.

Reacting to this in an interview on Angel TV, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Akwasi Addae Odike said that the comment of the First deputy speaker is “senseless”.

He angrily described Joe Wise as “irresponsible” because, taxes from the same people he termed ‘immoral’ are used to pay him and also cater for his needs as an MP.

“Taxes from we Ghanaians and businessmen pay him monthly as MP so while we go to bed every night thinking about how to grow our businesses in the country, he doesn’t carry same responsibilities.

“He is a Lawyer so what? Are we not in Ghana here where research revealed that about 80% of Lawyers in the country do not pay tax? What did he say about that development?

“He only opened his mouth just to make commentaries – there is no sense in the comment he made,” Akwasi Adae Odike fumed.

The presidential hopeful who has been constant critics of successive NPP and NDC governments, believes their lack of proper structures on tax regime to widen tax nets is the reason Ghanaians keep “suffering from excessive and repressive taxation.”