The General Secretary of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Citizen Ato Dadzie has criticized the government over its attempt to increase VAT in the 2022 budget statement and economic policy.
The proposal to increase VAT forms part of the government’s seven-point agenda to revitalize the economy, Ofori-Atta said when he presented the 2023 budget in Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022.
The standard VAT rate is 12.5%, except for supplies of a wholesaler or retailer of goods, which are taxed at a total flat rate of 3%.
The 2.5 percent increment is to directly support the roads sector and the government’s digitalization agenda.
Speaking on Original TV, Citizen Ato Dadzie said “In the 4th Republic’s history, the Ghanaian economic sector has never faced such hardships. The additional economic hardship caused by Akufo-Addo’s extra taxes would also undermine his well-known slogan, “from taxation to production.”
According to him, this could see the prices of basic things such as transport fares, and prices of commodities in our various markets.
He added that even though increasing VAT could impact the prices of imported goods which can make the prices of related local production of the same goods compete, it is important for the government to make more deliberate policies to encourage local producers.
