Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, a deputy minister of finance, has reassured the general public that no additional taxes will be introduced by the government in the approaching mid-year budget.
This declaration comes in the wake of stakeholders’ widespread complaints about the high tax burden on people and businesses and their calls for some taxes to be reduced or eliminated in order to ease financial strains.
In an interview with Channel One TV on Wednesday, June 12, Dr. Ampaabeng reaffirmed the government’s decision to avoid introducing an additional budget, as communicated by Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam.
The government remains committed to avoiding new taxes, but Dr. Ampaabeng also emphasized that they will look into other ways to increase revenue.
He emphasized that the existing tax system offers a number of significant opportunities that can be efficiently used to generate income.
“There are lot of conversations ongoing, but one thing I can say on behalf of my Minister [Dr Mohammed Amin Adam] is that there won’t be new taxes in this mid-year budget. But, going forward, we are looking for all avenues to make sure that we enhance revenue.
“I believe there are a lot of opportunities within the tax system for us to rake in revenue. It’s about improving efficiency. It’s about dealing with leakages in the tax system, it’s about engaging the taxpayers to accept responsibilities. There are leakages, but I don’t want to pre-empt anything,” he said.