By Nathaniel Nartey
Facebook: Nathaniel Nartey
Twitter: @Annertey_Nartey
Founder and Leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, has challenged the government to reduce taxes which will lead to a downward adjustment of prices of goods and services in the 2022 Budget to be presented to Parliament next week.
Mr Ayariga is convinced that next week’s budget presentation will see the introduction of more taxes which according to him has been the norm with successive governments.
Mr. Ayariga told Nathaniel Nartey that he is prepared to put his political ambitions on the line for the challenge to government, saying he will not run for the 2024 General Election should the taxes be reduced in the 2022 budget.
“I think it’s a constitutional mandate so its okay if not I would have asked that the budget is not read this year. A budget has never been read where prices of goods and services have gone down and I am waiting to see that day where a budget is ready and prices go down and that day I will surrender from contesting for the Presidency again.”
Other Political Parties also shared their expectations of the 2022 budget with GBC News.
Leader and Founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana LPG Kofi Akpaloo expects the government to raise funds to pay contractors it owes, and embark on a job creation initiative to solve the unemployment situation.
“If we were in charge as a party, we would have budgeted to raise money to pay all Contractors the government owed. Anything less than that, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Director of Communications, Peoples National Congress (PNC), Awudu Ishak, expects the government to have a relook at the tax regime and scrap some levies on petroleum products including the Sanitation and Pollution Tax.
“Government ought to look at the taxation policy, we cannot understand why there would be a Sanitation and Pollution Levy on petroleum products……so we think that a number of taxes such as this should not have been instituted in the first place,” he stated.
The CPP shared similar views on the issue. General Secretary of the party Nana Yaa Jantuah asked the government to account for what it used the taxes introduced in previous budgets for and advised against going for more loans.
“We want to see less taxes because we are being burdened with taxes….they should give us an account of what they have used all these taxes for, we need to know,” according to Nana Yaa Jantuah.