Legislators from the minority party will oppose the new tax bills, according to Mahama Ayariga, member of parliament for Bawku Central and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He claimed that because it is bad for Ghanaians, NDC lawmakers will probably vote against it.
Speaking on Citi FM in Accra, Hon. Ayariga said that unlike the approval of ministerial nominees, which was conducted in a secret ballot, a headcount would be done to determine whether the new tax bills should be accepted or rejected.
“It is going to be a voice vote where if you are not satisfied, we call for a division and then there will be a headcount and the matter will be determined, and I am very confident that all our members will be in the House and vote in line with our position to vote against the bill.”
“You will stand and be counted and everybody including your constituents will be watching and so if you don’t go with your constituents, they will see and measure you accordingly,” he further explained.
Mr. Ayariga emphasized that the Minority would have been understanding if the government had been working to reduce its spending, but as long as it is not, “only interested in asking Ghanaians to pay more taxes and not cutting down on the consumption of the taxes,” it will not allow such burden on Ghanaians.
As it looks to raise GH4 billion annually to shore up revenue to fix the failing economy and secure a Board approval for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government is under pressure to have three new revenue bills passed by Parliament.
If Parliament doesn’t pass the bills swiftly, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has issued a warning about the repercussions.
If the government’s efforts to close the domestic revenue gap continue to stall, he claimed, things will get very difficult.
“We are not in a good place because we don’t have access to the international capital market. Having hard currency to service our import obligations is significantly being threatened.”
“It is important we complete all prior actions, lock up this deal and get a shore up best from the IMF and other inflow sources and do certain broad things to ensure that the economy doesn’t crash and expand investments that will bring economic inclusion. We need to do what must be done to ensure that we cement the kind of relative stability we have had in the last four to five months and gradually begin to reverse the economic challenges we have had.”
The Minister has already requested support for the passage of the revenue bills from the minority in Parliament and other important parties.
