The former Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has stated that the decision by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to scrap certain taxes is not an issue of contention.
According to him, tax policies should be guided by prevailing economic conditions.
Speaking on JoyNews PM Express on Monday, March 17, Dr Amin Adam noted that every government has the prerogative to introduce or remove taxes based on the nation’s economic situation.
“Every government, depending on the times, can bring in a tax or scrap a tax. This is not the first time taxes have been scrapped in this country.
“In 2017, we (NPP) scrapped about 17 different taxes. So, the times will dictate when you scrap taxes and when you bring in new ones,” he stated.
His comment comes after the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, during the 2025 Budget statement presentation in Parliament announced the government’s plan to abolish several taxes such as the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), COVID-19 Levy, and the 10% withholding tax on bet winnings.
On the back of this, Dr. Amin Adam explained that the taxes being abolished were introduced at a time when the country faced significant financial challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and the banking sector cleanup exercise.
“The new taxes that we brought in, which he (President John Mahama’s administration) has decided to scrap, were brought in at a time when we were in difficulty.
“We all understand why the COVID levy was introduced—to generate more revenue because we were borrowing to fund COVID expenditure. We borrowed to fund the banking cleanup exercise, and therefore, we needed some additional revenue,” he explained.
He further acknowledged that just as governments impose taxes during economic hardships, it is reasonable to remove them when pressures ease.
“When things are tough and you bring in taxes, it is also reasonable that when the pressure has gone down and hardships are reduced somehow, then you take them off,” he said.
When asked if he supports the NDC administration’s decision to cancel some taxes, Dr Amin Adam made it clear that he has no objections.
“We don’t have any problem with that. But let me also add that it is not as if he has just scrapped taxes. Some of the taxes were actually not being collected.
“The Emissions Tax was not being collected. The tax on lotto winnings was not being collected,” he added.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
