FABAG urges the Government to stop imposing heavy taxes amid multinational exits

Speaking on Citi TV on Monday, May 6, 2024, Awuni highlighted that multinational companies including Glovo, Dark and Lovely, Nivea, Jumia Foods and Bic Pens had exited Ghana due to an environment that was no longer conducive to their growth. and expansion.

Awuni said: “More companies have left the country than was announced. I have spoken to them personally and many of them have opened satellite offices in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo. There are some products that are from Nigeria, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire. Ivory, this is real. Clearly, the model that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta continued to build was not meant for any economy to develop, sustain and function well. It was a tax on taxes.”

“They (the government) need to review the tax system, they need to redesign our tax system to give the private sector room to save, expand and create jobs. We are in an election year, and the model on which this economy is based is not a model that allows the private sector to develop to create jobs or make the economy expand. The government must reduce its tax system,” he said.

He added: “Growth and sustainability tax, you say that a company that records losses in its accounts for five years or more should pay tax on its losses, where is that done? It is quite annoying, it is clearly unacceptable. In the end of the day, it is better for him (the company) to leave. We believe that the Ghanaian economy will suffer more because many companies still want to leave.

He also expressed concern over the high cost of living in Ghana, emphasizing that life has become unbearable for many Ghanaians.

Meanwhile, a banking expert, Dr. Richmond Atuahene, has said that Ghana’s banking sector represents a sector that has been in a state of crisis for the past ten years.

Citing non-performing loans in Ghana’s banking sector, which have averaged approximately 16.5% over the past decade, the banking specialist emphasized that extensive literature from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates a scenario of a complete crisis in the banking sector. from Ghana. .

Speaking about the exit of some multinational brands such as Glovo, NIVEA, Jumia Foods, Game, Dark and Lovely, Bic, BET365 and others due to the economic crisis, Dr. Atuahene described the move as worrying.

He noted that most conglomerates would hesitate to do business in Ghana due to the country’s unfavorable macroeconomic indicators, which pale in comparison to those of neighboring countries in the sub-region.