The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, GNCCI, has reiterated calls for government to operationalise the Tax Exemption Bill and the Property Tax law and other deliberate programmes to boost domestic revenue mobilization.

According to the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the high cost of doing business in the country which they attribute to the continuous depreciation of the cedi, high inflation rates and high taxation is affecting their members.

In an interview with Citi Business News, President of the GNCCI, Dr. Clement Osei Amoako said in view of these unfavorable conditions, it was time for government to start implementing the Tax Exemptions Bill to help local businesses stay afloat.

“The rapid depreciation of the cedi against other major foreign currencies, the high cost of fuel, high inflation and high policy rates are heightening the cost of doing business in the country. The decision to seek balance of payment support from the International Monetary Firm, the IMF provides temporary relief in addressing the external shocks facing the Ghanaian economy. We urge government to provide more support to value additions, local content optimization, export development, trading of domestic products and services, and efficient competition laws which are sustainable tools needed to manage exchange rates and inflation stability to achieve microeconomic stability. The Chamber further urges government to operationalize the tax exemption bill, property tax bill among other to boost domestic revenue mobilisation,”he said.

Parliament earlier this year passed the Tax Exemptions Bill 2022 to streamline the tax exemption regime in the country.

The Bill, among other things, comprises tax waivers given to local and foreign companies to encourage increased investment and more foreign direct investment in the economy.

Also, it will seek to provide a regulatory regime for monitoring tax exemptions to ensure that exemptions granted are used for the intended purposes, as well curtail the abuse of the existing exemption regime.

It is projected that with the passage of the bill, exemptions for the 2022 financial year will be lowered by about GH¢500 million.