By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana’s Parliament have taken a swipe at their colleagues members on the Minority side of the House over what they described as double standards on the part of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament’s (MPs) current position on issues of tax waivers.
The NPP-led government has tabled before Parliament requests for a tax waiver amounting to approximately $350 million for 42 companies under its flagship project One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority MPs, led by its leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, oppose these waivers, arguing that Ghana, under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, needs to increase revenue rather than grant waivers.
Addressing some members of the Parliamentary Press Corps on Thursday, May 30, 2024, Majority Leader and MP for Effutu Constituency in the Central Region, Mr. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin accused the Minority of attempting to obstruct government business and hinder economic growth that could result from business investments and expansions.
The Majority Leader revealed that under former President John Mahama, the NDC government granted a more substantial tax waiver of $832 million to just one company (Meridien Port Services (MPS)) in 2016.
“At that time, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson was the Deputy Minister of Finance. The waiver for MPS represented a significant 55 cents waiver for every dollar of their $1.5 billion investment. So what has changed suddenly that he (Ato Forson) and his group are kicking against this request? He asked
Mr. Afenyo Markin further argued that the NDC lacks the moral authority to criticize the current tax waiver requests, noting that the proposed $350 million waivers for 42 companies are considerably less than the $832 million granted to MPS.
“As it stands today, the tax waiver requests for the 42 companies before Parliament are not even up to $350 million, compared to the $832 million tax waiver granted to MPS for their investment,” The Majority Leader reiterated.
