Ato Forson: Road toll will be restored under NDC administration

Finance Minister-designate, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has reaffirmed the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) commitment to reintroducing road tolls to generate revenue for road maintenance.

Speaking during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Dr Forson emphasised that the NDC has always supported road toll collection and intends to restore it.

“The NPP submitted a concession agreement to Parliament to reintroduce road tolls, but it was not laid. We are not running away from this promise. We are a party that honours its commitments, and if road tolls are a means to raise revenue, we will implement them,” he assured.

Dr Forson further argued that road toll collection is a globally accepted practice and a vital source of funding for road maintenance.

“If you use the road, you pay a toll. It is a standard practice worldwide. Ghana will not be the first or last country to adopt this,” he explained.

In another development, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, also pledged to remove both the E-Levy and the betting tax in NDC government’s first budget, should he be approved.

“My position on the E-levy is well known and I do not intend to run from it. I have written articles against the e-levy, I championed the position against the e-levy and I still stand by it. The e-levy is neither a direct tax, an indirect tax, or an excise tax. I insist that the betting tax must be abolished and as Finance Minister, I will abolish it in my first budget because it has failed”.

“I don’t know how to classify it as a tax practitioner. It doesn’t mean that I do not recognise that the levy brings in a certain amount of revenue, but the fact remains, e-levy retards the progress towards a cashless economy. We need to abolish it,” he stated.

“I have said that given the opportunity, I will abolish the e-levy. I want to restate that position that if approved, as part of the first budget, I will announce that we will abolish the levy as part of our first budget. Recognising the commitment H.E. John Dramani Mahama said that as part of his 120-day agenda, we will abolish the e-levy and we stand by that.”

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson also underscored the importance of compliance in enhancing Ghana’s revenue. He believes there is no need to increase taxes given the country’s substantial potential in revenue mobilisation.

“I have studied Ghana’s economy for some time now and without mincing words, Ghana has potential when it comes to tax revenue mobilisation. We don’t necessarily have to increase taxes before you rake in revenue. We have the handles, what we need to do is to improve compliance.”