A member of the legal team of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has called for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to apologise to the late President Jerry John Rawlings for increasing VAT (Value Added Tax).
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced during the presentation of the 2023 budget statement to Parliament that VAT would be increased by 2.5%.
Reacting to that move, Tamakloe said the President, who led the original ‘Ku Me Preko’ demonstration in the 90s over the then-newly introduced VAT, owes the late Jerry Rawlings an apology.
“This government has introduced various taxes that has culminated in the push of the VAT,” he said and cited Covid and ‘Borla’ among other taxes.
Speaking on Accra 100.5 FM mid-day news on Monday, November 28, 2022, he said all these nuisance taxes has caused an effective VAT rate of 21%.
He asked the president to tell the good people of Ghana the rate at which VAT was pegged when it was introduced by the late Jerry John Rawlings’ administration.
He noted that the president, in opposition, led thousands of Ghanaians to demonstrate against the introduction of VAT leading to the demise of some innocent people.
“Is that the same rate he [Nana Addo] is charging today? What was the VAT rate the president led the innocent people to demonstrate against? He should tell us. If I wake up from my sleep and I am told that Nana Addo, as president, will increase VAT, I will go back to sleep,” he said.
For increasing VAT, Mr Tameklo urged Nana Akufo-Addo to render a posthumous apology to the memory of former president J.J. Rawlings.
“The president should do as Rawlings did by abolishing the increment at the time people are reeling,” he said.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com