Tamale Central Member of Parliament Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed has said that the Minority in Parliament has decided to reject the three revenue bills that are currently before the House.<\/strong><\/p>\nHe said the government has no reason to burden Ghanaians with additional taxes hence their decision to vote against the Bills.<\/p>\n
Speaking an interview with TV3 in Parliament on Thursday, March 30, he said \u201cwe think that it is unacceptable that they will overburden Ghanaians with such taxes. In any case, there is no reason why the government will want to burden the people of this country with more taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese taxes have nothing to do with the IMF arrangement and that is the story that has been peddled out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes one gets extremely worried speaking on it, the good thing is that this vote is not going to be done through a secret ballot, it is going to be an open ballot so we are just hoping that we get our 136 and we are very convinced that the 136 are going to vote against those taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament who he said betrayed the party and Ghanaians for voting to approve the ministers last week, to redeem their image by voting to reject the bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the people of this country who we have let down with regards to how the voting was done on the approval of the Ministers, we have an opportunity to let people understand that certain individuals within our rank did what was not reflective of the entire caucus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that those who unfortunately betrayed the causes, they would have realized that considering the backlash and they need to make amends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bills are the Income Tax Amendment Bill, Excise Duty Amendment Bill, and Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill.<\/p>\n
The government is seeking to pass these bills to generate approximately GH\u00a24 billion per year to supplement domestic revenue.<\/p>\n
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah earlier told the Minority in Parliament to work with the Majority to pass the three revenue bills.<\/p>\n
Mr Oppong Nkrumah who is also a Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi told journalists in an interview on Tuesday, March 28 that\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTo our colleagues in the Minority, I think it is clear that we need to work together to achieve a certain objective for the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we are whipped up but let\u2019s look at the country\u2019s interest at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world is ready to help us, China, the Paris Club and external creditors are all with us in a good place now and are looking at us to see if we can help ourselves. My appeal to those in government, Minority, economic groups is that, we must ensure that these revenue bills are passed to close this GH\u00a24 billion gap\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
Governor of the Bank of Ghana\u00a0(BoG) Dr Ernest Addison also urged the House to prioritize passage of the Bil.<\/p>\n
He said that the\u00a0Monetary Policy Committee\u00a0noted that the budget statement for 2023 has set fiscal policy on a consolidation path.<\/p>\n
He said this was consistent with key elements agreed with the\u00a0International Monetary Fund\u00a0(IMF) at the Staff Level in December 2022.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0domestic debt exchange programme\u00a0launched by the government, new revenue measures, and structural fiscal reforms will provide significant reduction of debt service and help create fiscal space, Dr Addison stated.<\/p>\n
Addressing the 111th\u00a0Monetary Policy Committee\u00a0(MPC) press conference in Accra on Monday, March 27, he said the fiscal outlook is contingent on financing of the budget and will require the conclusion of the\u00a0domestic debt exchange programme\u00a0as well as securing the requisite financing assurances from bilateral donors. Indications are that these discussions are proceeding well.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the above, it is imperative that Parliament prioritizes the passage of the revenue bills currently before it,\u201d Dr Addison said.<\/p>\n
He further intimated that under the Staff Level Agreement with the IMF, the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance have finalised a Memorandum of Understanding on zero financing to the budget, which will be signed shortly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe passage of the relevant revenue bills by Parliament will therefore conclude the required prior actions to advance Ghana\u2019s programme to the IMF Executive Board.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be critical in resetting the economy on the path of recovery, including putting it firmly on a disinflation path and sustained growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last week,\u00a0Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, led a high-level delegation from the ministry to China to engage in bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart and other Chinese officials.<\/p>\n
The Finance Ministry said that Mr Ofori-Atta had\u00a0very positive and encouraging meetings in China.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Ministry said they were looking forward to securing external assurances very soon.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cSo far had very positive and encouraging meetings in China! Looking forward to securing external assurances very soon, even as we pass our outstanding domestic revenue bills back home. Great progress on all fronts\u2026<\/span>#ResolvingTogether<\/a><\/span>\u00a0#GhanaFirst,\u201d the Office of the Finance Minister tweeted on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\nMr Ofori-Atta also mentioned to the Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun the\u00a0Domestic Debt Exchange Programme\u00a0that has been introduced by the government as an indication that Ghana was ready to take the necessary action to readjust its fiscal path.<\/p>\n
In response, Mr Kun said \u201cwe know that these are short-term challenges which we as responsible creditors remain committed to resolving\u201d and that \u201cthe long-standing and prosperous relationship between Ghana and China imposes on us, a responsibility to help\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Finance Minister further said it was the hope of his country that Multilateral and Commercial creditors would also fully participate in the interest of burden sharing.<\/p>\n
\u201cChinese authorities have confidence in Ghana\u2019s economic management, and its long-term economic viability,\u201d Mr Kun said.<\/p>\n
He added \u201cChina believes in promoting debt sustainability and sustainable development,\u201d<\/p>\n
He said these when Mr Ofori-Atta, led a high-level delegation from the ministry to China to engage in bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart and other Chinese officials.<\/p>\n
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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