Thursday,
November 20, 2014
Folks, there is every good reason
to condemn the government for imposing a 17.5% tax on so-called selected
petroleum products, especially at a time that the cost of living has worsened
because nothing is adding up well for those managing the economy.
I strongly oppose this imposition
and support the Minority in Parliament for refusing to support it. I haven't
been keen on walk-outs or boycotts but its use by the Minority this time is
justifiable. The bill imposing the tax was presented under a certificate of
urgency and passed into law today. The president of Ghana would be waiting to
assent it when passed, Minority MP, Mark Assibey Yeboah, Minority MP and a member
of the Finance Committee, said.
Reasons given by some members of
the Minority are reasonable and supportable: Dr. Assibey Yeboah, has expressed
serious disappointment about the 17.5 percent tax on petroleum. He described
the tax imposition as “criminal” and vowed to “resist with my blood”.
(See more at:
http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2014/November-19th/govt-imposes-175-vat-on-petroleum-products.php#sthash.lNDPkhnz.dpuf).
MY COMMENTS
I wonder how this government
regards Ghanaians to be so brazen in imposing this tax, regardless of the loud
protestations going on about its inability to solve problems to lessen the
economic burden on the citizens.
Considering the high tension
among organized labour and the possibility of the situation degenerating into
something damning for the government and the country, why should the government
impose this tax at this time? The timing is horrible.
Again, if we consider the fact
that the people have already been pushed too far to the wall by policies and
measures aimed at squeezing taxes out of them, we can stick our necks out to
say boldly that the government is doing acts to make itself unappealing to the
people. It is the height of stupidity for the government or the Majority side
that passed the bill to think that imposing such a tax is an easy way to
maximize revenue.
There is too much concern about
how revenues generated are being used. There is concern about corruption and
its not being fought conscientiously by the government to warrant the
imposition of any measure aimed at raising revenue for the state. Why is the
government doing things to damage its own interests?
The fact remains incontrovertible
that anything affecting the petroleum sector this way will definitely have
serious repercussions and erode any gains that the government might have made
in its efforts to improve living conditions.
There is little to support this
tax, and those who initiated the move to pass this bill can best be described
as heartless.
There is more to worry about at
this stage. The government has just brought down the roof on itself and given
the opposition the strongest opportunity ever to undermine it. Too bad!!
The point here is that the
government has failed to consider the plight of the citizens and is madly
rushing to impose more hardships on them to its own political disadvantage.
This petroleum tax is damaging. It has come at the wrong time and is not in the
interest of the people or the country.
I had wanted to write an opinion
piece on how the government is managing the petroleum sector (especially the
Jubilee Oilfields) before this STUPID tax issue cropped up. If Ghanaians aren't
persuaded that the oil find is a blessing, they will not be prepared to
sacrifice any more. Instead, they will resort to selective sabotage.
Can the government tell Ghanaians
how the oil find has helped raise revenue to support its development projects
agenda? And if there is a windfall from the Jubilee Oilfields, will there be
any need to impose this 17.5% petroleum tax?
\I am painfully reminded of the
Value Added Tax that Rawlings introduced to annoy his critics and the people
only for it to be seen as a necessary evil. But WALAHI, this 17.5% petroleum
tax has come at the wrong time and will hurt the government!!
he danger that I foresee is that
when the people can no more soak up the pressure, they will bounce back to do
damaging things to undermine the democracy that has been used to bamboozle them
over the years. Is that what the government is preparing them for?
What, then, is the purpose of
government/governance in a democracy? To impose hardships on the people or to
guide and mobilize them to take action to solve problems and improve their
living standards?
Why is the government so
shortsighted when it comes to revenue generation and measures to effect it? Are
taxes the only means to raise revenue? And why choose such a sensitive sector
as "petroleum" to squeeze tight?
There are many areas from where
to generate funds if only those in charge of affairs will think outside
the box. I am disappointed at this new turn of events, which will further dampen
spirits and open up the government for vicious attacks. It's inconceivable that
the government would choose to arm its opponents this way instead of doing
things more decisively to disarm them. Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaa to them!!!
The government should take immediate
steps to renounce this “law” and President Mahama should not sign it. If the
law is at the behest of those pledging financial aid to the government, it should
be pointed out to the government that in its overzealousness to please those
donors for mere pittance, it will harm its own interests as far as Ghanaian
politics is concerned. Those donors aren’t new to us and shouldn’t be trusted
to be genuinely supporting us to develop (solve our problems of dependency) to
rub shoulders with them. They are vampires sucking us dry and will never want
us to be as they are. They should be dealt with more decisively than we have
seen so far.
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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