The President of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, has expressed concern over current affairs, particularly the challenges facing the private sector.
According to him, the private sector woes are due to the taxation on business, which hinders its ability to contribute effectively to the country’s economic development.
“The private sector needs space to grow. The government has its own principle that we should move from taxation to production, and now we’re being overtaxed.
“The cost of doing business is now very expensive, and we cannot contain them,” Dr Obeng said.
Contributing to a discussion ahead of the mid-year budget review, the GUTA president highlighted the importance of a thriving private sector to the development of every country.
According to him, the finance minister must remove certain redundant taxes like the Covid-19 levy.
“It is important to know that the private sector is supposed to be the engine of growth, but we are not growing as expected, and if that is so, then the economy will also not grow.
“We have to recognize that a vibrant private sector drives every economy in the world. So it is important that we grow the environment for us to achieve the development we so seek,” he explained on Joy News.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is set to present the 2023 mid-year budget review in Parliament today, July 31.
The process leading up to the budget review has not been without challenges. The date for the 2023 mid-year budget review has been rescheduled several times.
The Ministry of Finance announced that the budget would be presented on July 25, 2023, and later changed to July 27. Eventually, it was further postponed to its current date, Monday, July 31, 2023.
A statement from the ministry issued on Friday, July 28, highlighted key areas of focus, including structural reforms in expenditure commitment control and arrears clearance, debt management, financial stability, and a growth agenda.