Mid-Year Budget: Create A More Conducive Environment For Businesses –GNCCI

The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) is urging the government to give extensive details on how it intends to create a more conducive environment for businesses in its Mid-Year Budget review.

The Chief Executive Officer of GNCCI, Mark Badu-Aboagye, during a pre-budget forum on July 18 said the chamber wants the government to refrain from making general assertions on policies to support local businesses.

“If you look at our policy documents nowadays, there is always a general statement of ‘we will create a conducive environment for business’. And we all know these are low inflation, low taxes, lower interest rates and lower tariffs.

He emphasized that a drastic measure is needed to cushion businesses.

“If you look at what is happening, I don’t think that’s the case, so I want the government to be specific on how it will support local businesses,” he stressed.

He maintained that there was a need to review some levies to reduce the tax burden on Ghanaians.

“There are some taxes that I want to see abolished and some reviewed; one, the E-Levy. I think the rate is too high. The other one is the covid-19 levy. I don’t know why we still have that tax. We should take it off to help businesses”, he argued.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to present the Mid-Year Budget to Parliament on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.