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“…then you have a government where you have cutlasses being taxed, condoms being taxed…”

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the 2016 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo has reiterated the party’s determination to reduce ‘killer’ taxes imposed on businesses by the Mahama-led administration.

Interacting with host of Joy FM’s ‘Super Morning Show’ hosted by Kojo Yankson, Dr Bawumia said the ruling government is too ‘fixated’ on taxing as a source of revenue instead of allowing businesses to make profit and create employment first.

“The tax issue is a major issue because if you are so fixated on revenue, you will essentially end up hurting your production…today we have businesses who should be selling, out on strike…they’ve been over burdened by taxes and if you don’t take care you will be chasing the tax revenue and killing businesses; and if you kill businesses, it means you are causing unemployment. This is why Nana Akufo Addo is saying we need to mobilise financial resources. We will abolish import duties on all raw materials…let businesses produce, let them make profit and when they make profit and employ people, we will get income taxes and corporate taxes and so you don’t kill the business…” he noted.

According to the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, “if you become desperate, this is what happens. When you mismanage the economy..., then anything sounds great to you. Anything that is taxable, they are trying to impose tax on it…all of these are hurting the economy and therefore you are not going to get the growth and when you don’t get the growth, you will not get the revenue and when you don’t get the revenue, you will go back to increasing taxes to get the revenue and then you are in a cyclical downward spiral and so they have it wrong…we will change that particular policy….”

Meanwhile, shops are still closed as business men and women demonstrate against the introduction of some new taxes by government.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association served notice last week that its members will lock up their shops in a three-day strike to protest the high taxes imposed by the government.