Ghana’s Vice President and flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has pledged to introduce a sweeping tax amnesty policy for individuals and businesses under his presidency in 2025.
The move, according to him, will be part of efforts of the country’s transition to the flat rate tax system, where every Ghanaian would have to pay a single rate on taxable goods and services.
Interacting with the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs as part of his three-day campaign tour of the region, Dr Bawumia said this would help importers and businesses predict the taxes they would have to pay.
He also underscored the need for a fresh approach to taxation that would support his broader economic vision.
“There is one thing that is disturbing importers, there is no predictability. The predictability of import duties will help importers to have a fair idea of how much to pay and on a flat rate in Ghana Cedis.
“The quantity of each goods being imported must have a flat rate since there is no predictability, prices of goods and services are being increased without notices and benchmarks and this brings about inflationary biases,” Dr Bawumia told the traditional rulers.
On credit systems, the Vice President said the Ghana has been able to generate a database to help implement credit scoring, adding that the country would start individualised credit scoring before December 2024.
Also on digital skills, Dr. Bawumia pledged to train one million youth in digital skills to maximize job opportunities across the nation.
“Even people who are school dropouts will be trained in digital skills for a better Ghana,” he indicated.
The Vice President said since he worked tirelessly and performed well under the government of President Akufo-Addo, if voted as the next President, he will continue to fight corrupt practices and remain accountable to Ghanaians.
Dr. Bawumia said the Government was in the process of empowering chiefs to be actively involved in the governance system.
To this end, he noted that Government would need to amend the Chieftaincy Act, give more powers to chiefs and resource them financially to discharge their duties.
