Afenyo-Markin defends $449m tax waiver request for businesses

Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has rebutted claims by the Minority regarding the government’s tax waiver requests for businesses under the One District One Factory initiative.

Despite opposition from the Minority, who raised concerns about potential corruption and misuse of public funds over the proposed $449 million tax exemptions, Afenyo-Markin defended the initiative during his debate on the State of the Nation Address on Monday, March 11, 2024.

He emphasized that tax waivers are intended to stimulate economic growth rather than constitute losses to the state.

Explaining the rationale behind tax exemptions, he clarified that they serve as incentives to attract investments.

He highlighted that these exemptions eventually translate into tax credits, benefiting the state in the long run.

“Tax exemptions are used to attract investments, but the NDC is looking at them with a very myopic eye. Let me explain to you that when a government introduces tax exemptions, it is aimed at driving economic growth, and in effect, these tax exemptions become tax credits. It is not for free, so the NDC should not mislead Ghanaians.”

“When a company is investing in our country and we say you are not going to pay taxes for imports of materials and equipment, what it means is that when that is given, it eventually becomes a tax credit, and the state will gain, and this is what the NDC could not do and does not understand.”

Source: Citi Business News