{"id":51362,"date":"2014-09-26T14:16:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T14:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=51362"},"modified":"2014-09-26T15:16:23","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T15:16:23","slug":"imf-bailout-subsidies-taxes-and-govt-spending-targeted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/09\/imf-bailout-subsidies-taxes-and-govt-spending-targeted\/","title":{"rendered":"IMF bailout: Subsidies, taxes and gov\u2019t spending targeted"},"content":{"rendered":"
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its first round of discussions on a possible programme for Ghana has announced some targeted key areas to bring the country\u2019s economy back on track.<\/span><\/p>\n This was after meeting President John Mahama; Vice- President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur; Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission; Finance Minister Seth Terkper; Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur; Bank of Ghana Governor Kofi Wampah; other senior officials, and representatives of the private sector, the donor community and civil society.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”E9AU56U7c7AYf2TSRHe7306GWuzKEnQ4″]In a press statement released on Friday, the IMF said a \u201cfront loaded adjustment should be realized through reductions in Ghana\u2019s comparatively high public sector wage costs.\u201d<\/p>\n This means there will be a drastic review of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) which according to government drains more than 50% of its revenue.<\/p>\n The IMF also identified the costly and untargeted subsidies for energy and petroleum products and said they must be eliminated, with a better prioritization of capital spending.<\/p>\n Revenue generation<\/b><\/p>\n The IMF will seek to reduce tax exemptions and strengthened revenue administration “through a better targeting of large taxpayers.”<\/p>\n