Pressure group, OccupyGhana is calling for the removal of the tax exemption privilege enjoyed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the wake of the current dire economic situation of the country.

“Let the president pay income taxes too. We should remove the tax exemption granted to the President under article 68(5) of the Constitution. While the actual savings from this might not be much, it is hugely significant and relevantly symbolic. The president must lead by example. When he pays his taxes, then he can demand that the rest of us pay taxes too”, OccupyGhana said.

As part of measures to breathe life into the economy, the government has launched a debt restructuring programme which labour unions and the securities and investment industry have kicked against.

Under the programme, domestic bondholders have been asked to exchange their instruments for new ones.

Also, existing domestic bonds, as of 1 December 2022, will be exchanged for four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037.

The annual coupon on all of these new bonds will be set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 10% from 2025 until maturity”, he announced Sunday evening (4 December 2022).

Coupon payments will be semi-annual.

Reacting to these measures, OccupyGhana, in a statement, said it considers the debt restructuring programme as nothing more than an offer from the government to institutional portfolio investors to accept new terms that vary the terms under which the latter acquired the government’s securities, adding: “We think that the government has no power under the law and the Constitution to unilaterally impose fresh terms on portfolio investors; negotiation and the mutual consent of all parties will be required.”

OccupyGhana has therefore made 10 recommendations to the government among which include the removal of the tax exemption President Akufo-Addo enjoys.

“Let the President pay income taxes too. We should remove the tax exemption granted to the President under article 68(5) of the Constitution. While the actual savings from this might not be much, it is hugely significant and relevantly symbolic. The President must lead by example. When he pays his taxes, then he can demand that the rest of us pay taxes too,” OG said in its statement.

The group also reiterated several calls on the president to reduce the size of his government.