Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Flagbearer, has promised that an NPP government would lessen and abolish the tax burden on head porters, otherwise known as ‘Kayayei’, among others.
Speaking during the NPP 2016 manifesto launch in Accra, Dr. Bawumia said, “the mismanagement of the economy under this John Mahama led government has resulted in an increase in taxes on virtually everything taxable. Taxes were imposed on even on condoms and cutlasses.”
“This has increased the burden on the private sector and is a disincentive to production,” the NPP vice presidential nominee added.
He used the market tolls paid by the head porters ‘Kayayei’, as an example of how far the burdening tax net had been flung, but promised that “under the next NPP government, we are going to abolish the taxes on the Kayeyei in this country.”
Shift from taxation to production
To address these challenges, Dr. Bawumia has indicated that, the NPP will shift the focus of economic policy away from taxation to production.
Mentioning some of the taxes the party intends to reduce or scrap, he said corporate tax would be reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent.
He also said an NPP government would remove import duties on raw materials and machinery from production within the contest of the ECOWAS common external tariff, along with a scrapping of the special import levy.
To accompany the various tax scraps and reductions, Dr. Bawumia assured that the NPP would “ introduce tax incentives for businesses that hire fresh graduates from schools and we are going to reduce the VAT for micro and small enterprises from the 17.5 percent to the 3 percent flat rate.”
NPP to set up an Industrial Development Fund – Alan
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has also announced the setting up of an Industrial Development Fund, to support critical private sector industrial initiatives, as one of the means to tackling the rising unemployment levels.
Former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, who made this known at the party’s manifesto launch at the Accra International Trade Fair Centre in Accra, said, “the NPP will pursue aggressive industrialization based on value addition; provide tax and related incentives for manufacturing businesses; investing in skills training and apprenticeship, as well as providing resources for small businesses and start-ups to emerge and flourish.”
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