You dare not introduce new taxes - COPEC warns government

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has warned government to rescind its decision to introduce new taxes in the yet-to-be-read mid-year budget review statement.

According to him, Ghanaians are already burdened amidst the economic crisis, therefore, adding more taxes will be an insensitive act by government.

Speaking on Citi TV's Breakfast Daily show, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, stressed that over-taxation of Ghanaians will lead to the shuttering of livelihoods in the country.

He said, “What I am even picking up from the budget to be read soon is that if Ghanaians are not lucky, there will be newer taxes… But we will issue a warning here. If government dares us, we will dare them this time. I mean, it’s already crazy. We are trying. When it comes to austerity, what governments across the world will try to do is to provide support and reliefs.”

“But when you are in austerity, and you are taxing even more, you are simply shuttering people’s livelihoods. This is going to be crazy for people. But beyond this, if you are getting new attempts to slap taxes on petrol, which is already high, then the insensitivity, the misalignment. He is probably not diagnosing the problem properly to be able to proffer solutions properly,” Duncan Amoah stated.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, will present the 2023 mid-year budget review to Parliament on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

The presentation is in accordance with the provisions of the Public Financial Management Act 2016 which mandates the Minister of Finance to present the mid-year review of the budget statement on the Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the fiscal year.

It aims to provide a platform for government to update the House and citizens of its economic progress as well as outline any necessary adjustments to the budgetary allocations and policies.

ESA/FNOQ

Watch the latest edition of BizTech and Biz Headlines below: