‘From taxation to production’ – Bawumia’s 2016 promise pops up after new VAT on electricity

In 2016 while campaigning for a second term, Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said his government when voted into power will ensure that Ghanaians have lesser tax burdens.

He said his government will instead of taxing citizens provide for more factories and production.

“The NPP will shift the focus of economic policy away from taxation to production. We are going to move away from taxation to production. From taxation to production,” Dr Bawumia said in 2016.

In the wake of new taxes, particularly the recent Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity, Ghanaians have questioned the government’s pledge to reduce the tax burden on them.

The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr. John Kwakye, added his voice to the concerns, noting that the government has not followed its pledge to move Ghana’s economy from taxation to production.

Instead, it has become one of the governments with the most taxes in the country’s history.

In a letter by the Ministry of Finance on January 10, 2024, it served notice that customers of electricity above the maximum consumption level will from January 1, 2024, be charged a Value Added Tax.

Dr. Kwakye wrote on X: “Contrary to its pledge to move the economy from taxation to production, this Gov't will go down in history as one of the most taxing Gov'ts.”

SSD/NOQ

"The NPP will shift the focus of economic policy from taxation to production. We are going to move away from taxation to production"
[Before becoming a Vice President - 2016]

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— Elephants News Network (@elephantnewsgh) January 11, 2024