The CEO of Dalex Finance Ken Thompson is calling on government to increase taxes across board to save the economy from collapse.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) earlier this month predicted doom for the economy as its debt crisis seriously worsens.
The prediction comes barely five months after the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said during his presentation of the 2018 budget that the government through prudent management of the economy successfully reduced the country’s debt burden.
According to provisional data on government operations there is an overall budget deficit of 6.0 percent of GDP in 2017, against the target of 6.3 percent.
Total revenue and grants was 20.0 percent of GDP, below the target of 21.3 percent and total expenditures, including arrears clearance, was 26.0 percent of GDP below the budgeted estimate of 27.7 percent.
The total public debt declined from 73.1 percent of GDP in December 2016 to 69.8 percent of GDP (GH¢142.5 billion) at the end of 2017. Of the total, domestic debt was GH¢66.7 billion and external debt was GH¢75.8 billion.
This, according to Mr. Thompson, is worrying and that in order to save the economy from plummeting further taxes must be increased.
“The situation we have now is not sustainable and what I’m proposing now is that…is to increase taxes across board for a short period,” he told Starr business in an interview.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
