The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) have intensified calls on the government to reduce the tax burden on its members.
Speaking to Business Finder, the General Secretary of the ICU, Solomon Kotei has stated that the multiplicity of taxes continues to negatively affect the lives of workers and impact business operations.
“The myriad of taxes that the Ghanaian worker is paying without commensurate benefit is suffocating us; in fact, there is too much pressure on workers.â€
He added that “even overtime is taxed; everything you buy on the market has got the VAT on it and we are paying the National Insurance Levy on almost every item on the market; when your money goes to the bank there are SMS charges which are deducted, all of which make life very unbearable for the Ghanaian worker.â€
Mr. Kotei warned that the Union would continue to mount pressure on government and parliament to withdraw some of the taxes while reducing others drastically.
President of the AGI, James Asare Adjei has also indicated the Association’s dissatisfaction with the introduction of taxes without recourse to its members on the adverse impact on their businesses.
“This year, businesses were subjected to new taxes without any consultations; AGI and its members are not happy with the development and have therefore engaged the Ministry of Finance on this subject matter extensively,†he stressed.