President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will defeat his much-touted mantra of “from taxation to production” if Value Added Tax (VAT) goes up, former president John Dramani Mahama has said.

Mr Mahama believes businesses are already suffering and any attempt to increase VAT will cripple them.

The former Ghanaian leader’s concern comes on the back of media reports suggesting that VAT may go up to 21.5 per cent from the current 17.5 per cent.

In a tweet, Mr Mahama said: “The Ghanaian business sector has never experienced such difficult times in the history of the 4th Republic. Akufo-Addo's proposed new taxes would cripple businesses further and also defeat his much-touted mantra of "from taxation to production".

The Daily Statesman reported on Friday, 13 July 2018 that Nana Akufo-Addo is against the hike as suggested to him by the economic management team led by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

Subsequent meeting have been arranged between the economic management team and the president over the matter, the news outlet said.