Editorial: Calls for a comprehensive National Tax Policy worth considering

The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana, is calling for the development of a comprehensive national tax policy that protects the country’s tax system from being subject to the whims of successive governments.

President-Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana, George Ohene Kwatia made this call at the 12th Annual International Tax Conference – noting that tax policies have often been subject to significant changes whenever a new political party assumes power.

The alterations disrupt continuity of fiscal policies and do not bode well for the country.

As the political season heats up toward the December elections, we are witnessing this play out with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, promising tax amnesty, flat rates etc. – which goes to show how important the issue of taxes is to the business community and Ghanaians as a whole.

As Ohene Kwatia put it, “A national policy on taxation will deal with constant debates between political parties on nuisance taxes and/or relevant taxes’”.

Indeed, a national tax policy will drive the tax agenda and every government would have to respect it.

In fact, macroeconomic challenges occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war and post-effects of COVID-19 have brought about food shortages, high inflation and high debt levels.

These circumstances spurred government to introduce various fiscal measures to reset the economy, restore macroeconomic stability and help individuals to thrive.

These include: the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1093); Ghana Revenue Authority (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1096); Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, 2023 (Act 1095); Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2023 (Act 1094); and Revenue Administration Act, 2022 (Act 1086).

Taxation plays an important role in shaping the distribution of benefits, as it is supposed to be the basis for redistribution from those with the highest incomes to those most in need – and allows government to encourage certain activities while discouraging others by altering their relative prices.

It is a generally held principle that a tax system should be progressive, meaning that those with higher incomes pay greater taxes as a share of income than those with lower incomes.

Therefore, the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s call is in the right direction and must be included in broader stakeholder consultations.

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