GUTA expresses disappointment in tax reliefs announced by Finance Minister in 2024 budget
The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has expressed disappointment in the tax reliefs presented in the 2024 budget by the government. According to GUTA, the granted reliefs do not have a widespread positive impact on businesses and the citizenry.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced measures such as the extension of zero rates of VAT on certain items and waivers on import duties for specific goods.
The President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng, stated that despite being consulted before the budget presentation, their inputs were not taken into consideration. He mentioned that while some segments of the business community received positive reliefs, the majority still face challenges, and the overall cost of doing business remains high.
Dr. Obeng highlighted that the high cost of doing business, including port clearance fees and taxes, has not been adequately addressed. He criticized the retention of levies like the COVID-19 levy, arguing that it should be removed as it was introduced for a specific purpose and is now perceived as a nuisance tax.
The GUTA President questioned the government’s rationale for keeping certain levies, such as the Special Import Levy, which was initially introduced as a temporary measure. He argued that such practices erode the confidence and trust of the business community in leadership.
“We were consulted and we gave our inputs and we thought that they were going to be considered because we made very meaningful inputs, but our demands were not met especially those of us in the trading community.”
“But admittedly, some segment of the business community have gotten some reliefs and these reliefs are also positive. When you look at the relief for agric machinery, relief on raw materials for pharmaceuticals, relief for African prints, those of electric cars and all that, these are positive but they’re in the minority,“ he noted.
“We also demanded that the COVID levy should be removed because it’s a nuisance tax. There’s nothing nuisance than the COVID levy. It came to solve a specific purpose and it should be out of the table. It’s as simple as that” he argued.
Dr. Obeng expressed concerns about the potential consequences of passing the increased costs onto consumers, especially considering the effects of inflation on purchasing power. Additionally, he criticized the current structure of the Value Added Tax (VAT), stating that it lacks fairness and contributes to confusion between traders and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Overall, GUTA is dissatisfied with the 2024 budget’s tax reliefs, believing they do not address the broader challenges faced by businesses in Ghana, and some of the retained levies are viewed as detrimental to the business community.
