GRi in Parliament Ghana 05 - 10 -
2000
President
should pay tax-Minority
My
late appointment not a waste - Torbay
President should pay tax-Minority
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 October
2000
The Minority group in Parliament on
Wednesday said the President should lead the pro-tax drive by paying tax
himself.
They said the Office of the
President has all the luxuries, benefits and dignity and, therefore, exempting
him from tax will send wrong signals to the ordinary worker who is at all times
mandated to pay tax.
Dr. Kofi Apraku, Minority Spokesman
on Finance, tabled the concerns of the group when the Internal Revenue Bill was
debated.
The bill proposes, among other
things, that certain categories of people, including the President, should be
exempted from tax.
It is primarily aimed at amending
and consolidating all existing laws relating to Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax
and Gift Tax currently scattered in over 20 pieces of legislation.
The House Committee on Finance has
already proposed 53 amendments with a number of recommendations including the
setting up of a specialised court for tax matters.
Dr. Apraku also dismissed a
proposal in the bill that gives the President the power to exempt certain
persons from tax as "most unfair and unacceptable.
"If he (President) is not
paying tax, why should he exempt others from paying tax?" he asked.
Commodore Steve Obimpeh (Rtd.),
Chairman of the Finance Committee, on point of order, said the powers conferred
on the President emanate from the constitution.
Dr. Apraku agreed with the
committee's proposal that interest payments on financial instruments should be
tax-free but said not all dividends accrued from shares should be exempted from
tax.
He said with the present saving
rate of five per cent in Ghana, a tax-free interest payment is very crucial to
capital mobilisation.
On mining, the ranking member said
the time has come for the sector to cede its tax privileges to the
manufacturing and service sectors, especially in the information technology
area.
He said miners retain less then 20
per cent of their earnings in the country and does not see why they are still
being exempted from tax.
Mr. Modestus Ahiable, NDC-Ketu North,
said Parliament should step up its influence in the area of legislation and not
wait for any prodding from any quarter.
Mr. Victor Selormey, a Deputy
Minister of Finance, said the bill, when passed, will address most of the
difficulties in tax administration.
Later in the day, the Security
Industry (amendment) Bill was debated.
The bill aims at bringing the
operation of securities in line with international standards.
Most members were delighted the
bill proposed a change of the regulatory body's name from "Securities
Regulatory Commission" to "Securities and Exchange Commission".
Mr. Salas Mensah, NDC-Upper West
Akim, had told the house that many perceived the commission as a body in charge
of people who bore arms and ammunition.
"A lot of young men apply to
the Commission to be trained as security agents," he said.
GRi…/
My late appointment not a waste -
Torbay
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 October
2000
Mr. Fuzzy Dapaah Torbay, NDC-Okere,
on Wednesday defended his nomination for the post of Minister of State by the
President as "not a waste of time and public funds".
He told the Parliamentary
Appointments Committee, chaired by Mr. Ken Dzirasah, First Deputy Speaker,
which vetted him: "I can make a difference".
Some members had called his
nomination a waste of time and resources particularly when the ruling party has
two months left for its fate to be decided by the electorate.
Mr. Torbay, in spite of the
heckling from the Minority, who described his nomination as "a sudden
death appointment without designation", said he knows the President has
confidence in him.
Asked what he would do to protect
local manufacturers and prevent capital flight, Mr. Torbay said he would urge
government to review the trade liberalisation policy and have a two-way trade
relationship of export and import.
He attributed the poor economic
situation in the country to "Ghanaians' taste for foreign goods" and
called for the domestication of the economy.
Mr. Torbay said he got into active
politics in 1992 but was a "back bencher" during the revolutionary
days.
The 48-year-old Member holds a GCE
Ordinary Level Certificate and has done some courses in Chemical Battery
Technology.
GRi…/