The founder of Perez Chapel International, Bishop Charles Agyinasare, has blamed the collapse of Ghanaian businesses on the immediate tax imposed on them by the government.
Preaching at a Sunday service on 2 June 2019 at the Perez Chapel International at the Perez Dome in Accra, Bishop Agyinasare wondered why foreign-owned businesses are given tax exemptions to the detriment of indigenous ones.
As a result, he said, the majority of the mega businesses in Ghana are not owned by Ghanaians.
Bishop Agyinasare told his congregation that: “Do you know that in Ghana we don’t even have businesses? We like foreign businesses, we don’t have businesses, all our shops are foreign-owned – from Melcom to Shoprite to our restaurants; the Papayes, all the telecom companies, we don’t own any of them, from Vodafone to MTN to [Airtel/]Tigo, we don’t own anything.
“We say we do chocolate but Nestle doesn’t belong to us, Unilever Brothers doesn’t belong to us, we don’t own anything.
“When a foreign company wants to come and do business in Ghana, we’ll give them a 10 per cent tax exemption for them to settle within the period. A Ghanaian businessman starts the same business and from day one, he has to pay tax and, so, our businesses are collapsing.
“When a Ghanaian businessman starts a furniture company today, he has to pay tax, a foreign company starts a furniture company, he claims he’s exporting the thing then they export the thing and it still gets back here and the Ghanaian man who has started is paying taxes and so our businesses don’t succeed”.
Last year, the President of the African Centre for Economic Transformation, (ACET), Dr K. Y. Amoako said tax holidays for foreign companies is undermining Africa’s growth.
He bemoaned the lack of stringent measures by the government to mobilise taxes from international firms who are investing in African countries.
Dr Amoako said this in an interview with the media on the sidelines of the opening session of the 2018 African Transformation Forum held in Accra.
Source: classfmonline.com
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Serious misinformation. Please limit yourself to the gospel.
Nestle does not manufacture chocolate. It's cocoa processing company of Ghana.
I think church should be made to pay tax on their earnings so as to lessen the burden on companies
Has he been paying the Gift Tax for the numerous gifts that he and his wife have been receiving? Hmmm
Taxation is not the core reason for the failure of businesses in Ghana. In fact how many of the so called Ghanaian businesses provide proper business accounts to prove whether they are making a profit or a loss? Even in the UK until you can provide a genuine set of accounts to prove otherwise, the Inland Revenue will demand tax from you based on an assumed/estimated profit. Also how many of the so called Ghanaian businessmen practice delayed gratification to build their business? Before they even make a profit they use the money they have borrowed to buy an expensive car to show off. How many of your businesses get involved in the processing of your cocoa, cassava, plantain, oranges. mangoes etcetera? Do the right thing and stop complaining about foreigners and taxes.
Not as simple as we want it to appear here. As for why most locally owned businesses do not perform well, we just use taxation as as comfort. There are deeper reasons. We need to learn how taxation works. It is a whole area and we must not just jump to conclusions.
The World Bank has recommended that the tax net is widened. if I were you I would gladly accept this and let my church be paying tax for the development of Ghana. If we all learn to pay our taxes and rates, Ghana will be a nice place to do business but where only few people are paying taxes the burden will be huge on those who are paying. Use your pulpit to preach the payment of taxes as it is written in the Bible 'Give unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is Gods. BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR WIDENING THE TAX NET JUST AS YOU PREACH FOR THE PAYMENT OF TITHE IN THE CHURCH
NPP, can you please just listen when somebody speak. The pastor never said this started during NPP regime, he was speaking about Ghana in general. So people should not speak again because NPP is in power? you will attack anybody who did not sing praises on your government. What the man of God said, is it true or not? .This is a shame.
Did the pastor find out why local businesses are collapsing and foreign business thriving. That is business analysis 101.They preach about foresight and all that stuff. How do you live in a country where local politicians will sit there and look on for local businesses to fail? Is this not foolishness? Why can't the pastor tell his politicians who are stealing money left to right to fix the problems? Not every one in leadership position is a leader.
Oso di wu line mu! Do not comment on things you know next to nothing about. I rest my case