A former Member of Parliament for Ayensuano Constituency, Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye has clarified that Government’s’ proposal to tax foreign incomes of Ghanaians living in the country will not affect remittances.
The government has made known that it is relying on taxes on the foreign income of resident Ghanaians to close the GH¢1.8 billion revenue gap created by the suspension of the VAT on electricity.
It said this has become necessary to ensure the government meets its 2024 tax revenue target of GH¢143.1 billion and budget deficit target of 5.9 per cent.
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Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa, Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye noted that the IMF conditions tasks the country to generate revenue internally without stating where or who to tax.
However, he said the Government is looking at where there are potentials to increase revenue, noting that taxing Ghanaians with foreign incomes will help the country increase its revenue.
According to Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye, the tax will be deducted on Ghanaians who have made investments in foreign countries and receiving income here in Ghana and not on remittances.
“When we say someone is a foreign earner, it is a Ghanaian living in the country who has an investment outside and receives income from it. If you have a child living abroad and they send you money, you are not a foreign earner. It is remittance, you are not a foreign earner,” he said.
Despite the clarification, he said he did not want to go deeper on the matter, adding that at the right time the Minister of Finance will come and explain better.
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Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori