{"id":67739,"date":"2014-11-23T13:44:16","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T13:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=67739"},"modified":"2014-11-23T13:46:18","modified_gmt":"2014-11-23T13:46:18","slug":"2015-budget-statement-was-a-ruse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/11\/2015-budget-statement-was-a-ruse\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 budget statement was a ruse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The just read budget of Ghana for 2015 was nothing but a ruse; it was a ploy to impose a 17.5 % tax on the people of Ghana.<\/p>\n

Aware that the government is hard pressed for cash, it is not surprising that taxes would go up. However, the way this tax was presented to Ghanaians is the problem. The whole exercise of presenting the 2015 budget now is a strategic dishonesty. These are my reasons:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What was said in the budget that we did not already know? Exim bank for promotion of exports? What can such a bank do that Ghana Commercial Bank or ADB cannot? In a situation of great financial exigency, every expenditure must be considered in a way that offers the greatest return.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [contextly_sidebar id=”q69OgroCbI94m1kKiQO99WWvVdLAH5M5″]Why create a whole new bank when existing ones could perform the same functions? In the end, money is what is needed to make the bank work, whether it is brand new or an existing bank. By using an existing bank, we can at least save administrative cost.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In the situation that Ghana finds itself, the Finance Minister should be the last person to play politics. The enumeration of the government\u2019s \u201cachievements\u201d in the guise of indicating where money was spent only diminishes the seriousness of the Minister. Such deeds appropriately belong to the spin doctors and propagandists in other ministries.<\/li>\n
    2. Government revenue as of September 2014 was 17.7 billion cedis; expenditure was 24.4 billion, according to BoG. In spite of this deficit spending, the Government was still unable to meet its statutory payments. By all indications, government\u2019s expenditure around 35 billion cedis is what was needed to meet the expenditure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      None of this was addressed in this so-called budget. When psychiatric nurses have not been paid for 8 months, when the Auditor General does not receive his budget allocation, when pension funds are not paid, when CHRAJ and many government institutions remain salary funded only, these are the real issues that must be dealt with in the budget.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. If we have engaged the IMF for assistance, no credible budget can be made without at least the mentioning of the accompanying conditionalities. This is what some would call \u201cpolitrics.\u201d The real budget story will come in January or February. This is just a prelude.<\/li>\n
      2. I can go on and on, but I will spare my readers. The real new item in the \u201cbudget\u201d is the 17.5 tax on petroleum products. No government would dare introduce such a huge tax on its citizens at a time like this. Just saying the government needs money will not suffice; governments always need money.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The government is not a separate entity that does things as it pleases. This is a democracy: government of the people, by the people, for the people. Such a huge take on petroleum products means taxes on everything because when fuel is taxed, everything is taxed.<\/p>\n

        \"seth<\/a><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. In the last 5 months, world oil prices have fallen by 27%.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The government reduced gasoline prices by 2%, an amount which had no effect on the ordinary consumer who uses trotro. Instead of reducing gasoline prices as prices come down, the government has chosen to increase prices by 17.5%.<\/p>\n

          This means the government\u2019s windfall from falling oil prices, together with the new tax comes to 44.5%. What is informing this decision aside from, \u201cgovernment needs the money?\u201d<\/p>\n

          The government may need the money, but the citizens are unduly burdened. We must resist this tax. This is a Trojan horse. The whole budget exercise was a ruse; this is why the Minister wants that part instituted right away. I thought the budget was for 2015.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Dr. Richard Amoako Baah KNUST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The just read budget of Ghana for 2015 was nothing but a ruse; it was a ploy to impose a 17.5 % tax on the people of Ghana. Aware that the government is hard pressed for cash, it is not surprising that taxes would go up. However, the way this tax was presented to Ghanaians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":66517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[8],"yoast_head":"\n2015 budget statement was a ruse - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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