Twice-failed Presidential Candidate, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, has asked the government to “respect” Ghanaian tax payers.

“Taxpayers deserve respect,” Dr. Nduom wrote on his facebook wall.

His comments follow assertions by Ketu South MP and Minister of State in charge of Financial and Allied Institutions, Fifi Kwetey, that government could only mobilise revenue from taxes since “monies do not drop from the heavens”.

According to him, “monies for development do not drop from Heaven; they come from taxes, agreed. Our taxes, what we Ghanaians work hard to pay to government must be spent with care, on projects that will improve the quality of our lives and those who decide how much we should pay must not treat the tax burden casually.

Fifi Kwetey’s outburst was in response to a walkout staged by the Minority in Parliament Friday over a 2.5 % increment in the Value Added Tax (VAT) threshold.

The Minority claimed the amendment was “surreptitiously” done.

The Majority, however, parried off the criticism. Fifi Kwetey insisted in various interviews that the Minority’s Spokesperson on Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, knew about the intended amendment.