By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu Constituency in the Central Region, who doubles as the Majority Leader, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has put up a spirited defense against those who are against tax waiver requests for businesses under the government’s flagship program ‘One District, One Factory’ initiative.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin, on Monday, March 11, 2024, put up his spirited defense during his concluding remarks on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s 2024 State of the Nation Address, even though the Minority had raised strong objections to the proposed $449 million tax exemptions.
The minority caucus concerns were about potential corruption and misuse of public funds over the proposed $449 million tax exemptions.
But the majority leader strongly emphasised that tax waivers are intended to stimulate economic growth rather than constitute losses to the state.
Explaining the rationale behind tax exemptions, Mr. Afenyo-Markin clarified that they serve as incentives to attract investments.
He highlighted that these exemptions eventually translate into tax credits, benefiting the state in the long run.
“Tax exemptions are used to attract investments, but the NDC is looking at them with a very myopic eye. Let me explain to you that when a government introduces tax exemptions, it is aimed at driving economic growth, and in effect, these tax exemptions become tax credits. It is not for free, so the NDC should not mislead Ghanaians.
When a company is investing in our country and we say you are not going to pay taxes for imports of materials and equipment, what it means is that when that is given, it eventually becomes a tax credit, and the state will gain, and this is what the NDC could not do and does not understand,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin reiterated.