The Ghana Start-up Bill, currently in its drafting stage and yet to be presented to Cabinet for approval and subsequently laid before Parliament in January next year, is expected to grant to Ghanaian Start-ups, 8 to 10 years of tax holidays.
This, is according to the Minister for Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Awal Mohammed.
“This bill will seek to present tax holidays for startups for up to 8 years. We want startups, when they begin operations not to pay taxes for up to eight or even ten years. The essence is to encourage young business owners to plough back their profits into their businesses and consequently, the economy for both to grow,” said the Minister at the 2020 edition of the Ghana Business Awards.
Dr Awal Mohammed noted that the move is expedient as businesses in their infancy are oftentimes crippled by debt obligations and sees the Bill as the most appropriate measure to ensure that Start-ups not only thrive up until breakeven points, but proceed to sustained profitability.
The Bill, currently being drafted by a committee of experts is expected to be completed within the next 3 months.
The Bill when passed will among other things;
- Set up an incentive framework for the creation and development of Start-ups in Ghana to promote creativity, innovation and the use of new technologies in achieving a strong added value and competitiveness at the national, regional and district levels.
- Provide the legal backing for business starting and promotion of Start-ups for decent job and wealth creation, in accordance with SDG 8.
The creation of the Ghana Start-up Bill is being spearheaded by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NIEP), Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (GCYE), Ghana Start-up Network (GSN), Ghana Hubs Network (GHN), i4Policy and Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) with funding and technical support from GIZ Make IT.
