Ghana 2020 budget to focus on industrialisation and review tax policies, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta discloses

The Minister is expected to present the budget in November this year.

He noted that the country had gone through three years of macro-economic stability and it was now time to find interventions to boost industrialisation in order to sustain the transformation.

Ofori-Atta was speaking in an interview with the Accra based, Graphic on the sidelines of the signing of a loan agreement between Ghana and Kuwait on September 13, this year.

He said, “the type of liquidity that is required to support industrialisation will be a key element in the 2020 budget.”

He further highlighted the need to align the country’s industrialisation drive to the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ vision and document, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“We want the country to become a regional hub for trade and a key trade and facilitation centre,” he said.

Tax exemptions

Mr Ofori Atta noted that the 2020 budget would review the country’s tax exemption policy.

“We lose a lot of resources in exemptions and it’s time to straighten it out and make exemptions count. There are too many institutions and people who are benefiting but do not need to,” he said.

Revenue measures

Touching on measures to boost domestic revenue mobilisation, he said, “we changed all the commissioners and that is expected to yield some serious results.”

He said, “Some prosecutions will also be carried out to re-align the way in which small scale mining of gold leaves this country,” he stated, adding that, “But in the final analysis, we all as Ghanaians need to feel the urgency of paying taxes.”

COCOBOD loan

The Finance Minister also pointed out that the cocoa syndicated loan was coming at a good time for the country.

“The syndication is an annual ritual and it usually comes at a good time when traders are looking for foreign exchange and help to support and keep our currency stable,” he noted.