Gov’t Suspends Income Tax On Trotro And Taxi
President Akufo-Addo’s government has announced the suspension of vehicle income tax on Trotro and taxis to reduce the cost of transportation under its tax relief program.
The caretaker finance minister has also provided that, Small businesses will also enjoy the suspension of income tax stamp payments.
It was revealed in the 2021 Budget statement read in Parliament by the Minister for Parliamentary affairs who doubles as Majority Leader in parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu on 12th March 2021.
Mr. Kyei Mensah Bonsu also announced 30% corporate income tax relieves on hotels, restaurants, education, arts & entertainment as well as travel and tours.
“A waiver of penalty and interest on accumulated tax arrears up to December 2020 to reduce cash flow challenges will also target companies,” Mr. Kyei Mensah Bonsu stated.
GH¢100 Billion Obaatan Pa Investment
Speaking on the Obaatan pa programme, he said will alleviate hardship on Ghanaians.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and caretaker Minister for Finance, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, said the government’s Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprise Support (CARES) initiative is a singular and remarkable financial investment in the Ghanaian economy by the NPP government.
He said CARES was introduced to cushion Ghanaians and businesses against the adverse economic effects of pandemic coronavirus.
He said the government propelled GH¢100 billion Obaatan pa investment into the Ghanaian economy to revive against the global pandemic and put it back to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Mr. Speaker, pursuing the GH¢100 billion Ghana CARES Obaatan pa programme allows us to address the challenges and also seize the opportunities created by COVID-19 for socio-economic transformation. This programme will foster closer collaboration with the private sector, labor, faith-based organizations, and development partners to complement efforts in the revitalization and growth agenda.”
“The Obaatan pa programme is inspired by President Akufo-Addo’s conviction that, what our forebears dreamed of, we will achieve, if we inherited dreams and visions from our founding fathers, we should leave legacies of achievements and realities to our children and their children,” Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu explained.
Ghana CARES (Obaatan Pa) Programme
The Ghana Cares is a GH¢100 billion post COVID programme initiated by the government to stabilize, revitalize and transform Ghana’s economy and to create jobs and prosperity for Ghanaians over a three-year period. The programme is sequenced in two phases; the stabilization phase and the medium-term revitalization phase.
This the Minister noted that the investment is aimed at expanding commercial agriculture and attract educated youth into agriculture; building Ghana’s Light Manufacturing industry targeting agro-processing, food import substitution, textile, and pharmaceuticals; developing engineering, machine tools, and ICT digital economy industries; fast-tracking digitization by expediting government digital initiatives; developing Ghana’s Housing and Construction industry; and establish Ghana as a regional Hub, leveraging its position within ECOWAS and as host of the Secretariat of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by focusing on manufacturing, finance, mining, healthcare, aviation and logistics, digital services, petroleum, automobile, tourism, hospitality, and creative arts.