I had warned against it implementation on the grounds that amount should have been invested in productive ventures or Real estate Now we see Inflation coming back a symtom of too much money chasing few goods. Ghana imports t ... read full comment
I had warned against it implementation on the grounds that amount should have been invested in productive ventures or Real estate Now we see Inflation coming back a symtom of too much money chasing few goods. Ghana imports too much and I would have thought we would have created employment which would make market forces drive the most productive workers into areas with high pay . Now we need to start investing to see if the economy can expand quickly to absorb all the se wages. The recent tax increases is therefore a way to remove the excess demand in the system . Let us always remeber , do not give freebies as it becomes difficult to take away. That is why some of us questioned the fun ding of the Free SHS . It was going to be imposssible
SARPONG 10 years ago
You got the whole thing wrong with the uptick of inflation in Ghana and you are very wrong to adhere to this economic theory that high taxes will remove excess demand in the economy. Where did you learn that?
First, the in ... read full comment
You got the whole thing wrong with the uptick of inflation in Ghana and you are very wrong to adhere to this economic theory that high taxes will remove excess demand in the economy. Where did you learn that?
First, the inflation in Ghana is not driven by excess demand. You are really not in tune with what is ailing our economy. Excess demand occur in robust economy where there is almost full employment and people have money to spend which is not the case in Ghana where people don't have money to spend.
Inflation is going up in Ghana because the government was really cooking up the inflationary numbers. High taxes by and large does not solve any problem especially in Ghana where we need to create jobs to absorb the University and high school graduates. High taxes is a job killer and not a job creation method.
Sometimes people like you confuse increase in taxes with expanding the tax base.
I. Ghana the tax base is really small. Only about 30% of all workers pay taxes and some companies use accounting gimmicks to avoid paying taxes. That is what the government need to focus on, expanding the tax base and not taxing the few people who are already overtaxed. There is no economy in the world that can tax itself out of its problems especially in Ghana where tax, spend and loot is the order of the day.
Kojo T 10 years ago
Define for yourself the concept of demand , then look at supply and then look at the effect of current taxes. 70% is being ussed up for wages , so is this not a way to bring in more money. Some of you are just bookish and can ... read full comment
Define for yourself the concept of demand , then look at supply and then look at the effect of current taxes. 70% is being ussed up for wages , so is this not a way to bring in more money. Some of you are just bookish and cannot take a common sense approach. Bye before you start pouring insults
SARPONG 10 years ago
Kojo T, nobody is going to insult you but rather you are going to be schooled about basic economics you failed to learn in college. To you, the only way to solve any financial shortfall in an economy is by increasing taxes an ... read full comment
Kojo T, nobody is going to insult you but rather you are going to be schooled about basic economics you failed to learn in college. To you, the only way to solve any financial shortfall in an economy is by increasing taxes and that is really sad for somebody who have lived in USA for decades.
Did Obama and Congress increase taxes to revitalize the slumping USA economy? The answer is a big NO. Rather the government cut taxes on income earners and increased government spending by repairing old bridges and roads. Also unemployment payment duration was increased by six more months so that more money can be brought to the economy.
Your problem is that you think the government wage bill is 70% of revenue so the government should tax these workers to get it back. First, there are some workers in Ghana who have not been paid in two years, where do you expect them to get the money to pay more taxes?
You have to learn basic economic concept that, you don't increase taxes in a depressed economy. The government don't have to increase taxes in Ghana but rather have to expand the tax base to capture those evading paying taxes. Only about 30% of all eligible tax payers in Ghana pay their taxes and it is the 70% who don't pay their taxes that the government should go after.
If Korle-Bu can have more than 20% ghost workers, you should believe that there are at least 15% ghost workers among the 700,000 supposed government workers and that is 105,000 potential ghost employees on government payroll and identifying these ghost employees and eliminating them can safe the government billions of cedis.
Wiafe 10 years ago
I agree with Sarpong that the tax base needs to be widened. But the problem in Ghana as alluded by Kofi and Sarpong lies in the poor or weak tax collection system. Most Ghanaian do not pay taxes--and the revenue authorities ... read full comment
I agree with Sarpong that the tax base needs to be widened. But the problem in Ghana as alluded by Kofi and Sarpong lies in the poor or weak tax collection system. Most Ghanaian do not pay taxes--and the revenue authorities have weak capacities to collect existing taxes.
The Single Spine and the spate of stealing is going to definitely "kill the goose that is supposed to lay the eggs."
Kofi--I think you should find a way to get some in the Mahama administration to read your articles. Something "creative" needs to be done to save the country--Ghana is heading in the wrong direction.
I had warned against it implementation on the grounds that amount should have been invested in productive ventures or Real estate Now we see Inflation coming back a symtom of too much money chasing few goods. Ghana imports t ...
read full comment
You got the whole thing wrong with the uptick of inflation in Ghana and you are very wrong to adhere to this economic theory that high taxes will remove excess demand in the economy. Where did you learn that?
First, the in ...
read full comment
Define for yourself the concept of demand , then look at supply and then look at the effect of current taxes. 70% is being ussed up for wages , so is this not a way to bring in more money. Some of you are just bookish and can ...
read full comment
Kojo T, nobody is going to insult you but rather you are going to be schooled about basic economics you failed to learn in college. To you, the only way to solve any financial shortfall in an economy is by increasing taxes an ...
read full comment
I agree with Sarpong that the tax base needs to be widened. But the problem in Ghana as alluded by Kofi and Sarpong lies in the poor or weak tax collection system. Most Ghanaian do not pay taxes--and the revenue authorities ...
read full comment