VAT will not be abolished

The NDC government has announced that it has no intention of withdrawing the Value Added Tax (VAT) system. The government will however ensure that adequate measures are set up to ensure that all distortions and misunderstandings associated with the working mechanism of the system are corrected to ensure its smooth implementation.

According to an article in the Graphic, Mr Kwabena Kyere, Deputy Minister of Education and general secretary of the NDC who announced this at a rally organised by the Akropong Constituency of the party, pointed out that public education of the system will be intensified to ensure that registered members come to full grips with the mode of calculating the system. Mr Kyere said there is a need to maintain the VAT system since it will help widen the tax net to include those who were hitherto excluded. He announced that the government was negotiating with the African Development Bank for loans to build about 500 primary school blocks in the country.

Meanwhile Alhaji Asumah Banda, chairman of the opposition People's Convention Party has criticised the government for the haphazard way it went about the implementation of the VAT system.