Three significant tax laws that will help the nation's long-term ability to generate domestic income have been adopted by the parliament.
The legislation include the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022, the Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, and the Excise Duty and Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bill, all of which are due in 2022.
The three, which were approved under certificates of urgency, are expected to support the government's initiatives to raise more than GH4 billion yearly.
It is anticipated that the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, which would tax cigarettes, e-cigarettes, sweetened drinks, spirits, and wines at a 20% rate, will bring in around GH400 million yearly, while the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill will bring in about GH1.2 billion.
The National Fiscal Stabilization Levy, which now levies a fee on enterprises operating in certain industries, would be replaced by the Growth and Sustainability (Amendment) Bill, which is also anticipated to raise roughly GH2.2 billion.
The National Reconstruction Levy, 2001 (Act 597) and the National Reconstruction Levy (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 687) each imposed a 1.5 percent non-deductible levy on the profits before taxes of all businesses, with the exception of rural and community banks. These levies were replaced by the National Fiscal Stabilization Levy.
The Ghana Revenue Authority Bill, 2022, was also adopted by the House.
Enhancing Ghana's prospects of receiving a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund depends on passing the three tax legislation (IMF).
counting of the votes
Once Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, moved the motions for the House to pass the laws, they were finally approved last Friday.
At the consideration phase and the third readings, the Speaker put the motions to voice voting. He then announced the "Ayes" to have won.
But, Ahmed Ibrahim, the First Deputy Minority Whip, contested his decisions on the voice votes three times in a row and demanded head counts and a division.
In division, lawmakers will leave the room and be called back in one by one to be counted.
Despite the Minority's best efforts to prevent the legislation' passage, the results of the headcounts indicated 137 "Ayes" and 136 "Noes."
Explaining uncertainties
The Opposition Chief Whip, Governor Kwame Agbodza, responded to the query of how the 137 Majority MPs were tallied during each headcount by saying that frequently, events in the House were "sometimes misconstrued outside."
"Some members of the public are aware that two of our colleagues were not physically present and it would be appropriate to make a public announcement as to why we still numbered 137," he prayed. "When we conducted the previous vote, you (Mr. Speaker) tallied 137 for our colleagues.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0