Some stakeholders of the economy have described the introduction of tax reliefs in the government’s 2024 budget as welcoming.
Presenting the 2024 budget and economic policy in Parliament on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced eight tax reliefs the government intends to implement from next year.
They include extending the zero rate of VAT on locally manufactured African prints for two (2) more years; waiving import duties on the import of electric vehicles for public transportation for a period of 8 years; waiving import duties on semi-knocked down and completely knocked down electric vehicles imported by registered EV assembly companies in Ghana for a period of 8 years, and extending the zero rate of VAT on locally assembled vehicles for 2 more years.
Others were zero rate VAT on locally produced sanitary pads; granting import duty waivers for raw materials for the local manufacture of sanitary pads; granting exemptions on the importation of agricultural machinery equipment and inputs and medical consumables, raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry, as well as a VAT flat rate of 5 percent to replace the 15 percent standard VAT rate on all commercial properties, which will be introduced to simplify administration.
Speaking in an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV on Wednesday, Yaw Appiah Lartey, Financial Advisory Partner, Deloitte Africa, indicated that “For me, what I found very interesting is the introduction of tax exemptions or tax waivers for specific sectors of the economy. I think that, for me, it was a good initiative.”
Similarly, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo, noted that “it is really a good move. We welcome those measures,” adding that “we look forward to being able to deal with the other ones that we have been asking for.”
Meanwhile, he said the AGI had wanted the scrapping of some taxes like the growth and sustainability levy.
