The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called on the government to be cautious about introducing new taxes in the budget to be read today.

In a press release issued by the two organization separately on their expectations ahead of the budget reading, the GEA stated that: “businesses do not expect the introduction of new taxes as experienced in the past fiscal years in the upcoming budget,” with the TUC adding that “this is not the time to tax private sector businesses.”

According to them, COVID-19 has negatively impacted businesses and most businesses are looking forward to the implementation of a rapid economic recovery strategy.

The President of GEA, Dan Achampong outlined some issues he is expecting the budget capture. “The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, since March 12, 2020, has created many uncertainties, financial challenges, and shortfalls in aggregate demand for businesses and employers in the country. The pandemic derailed the economy to a path of significant decline, which necessitated the revision of projected 2020 overall GDP Growth from 6.8 per cent to 1.9 per cent,”

The statement further stated that “Consequently, many enterprises have limited their operations with more workers facing the prospect of unemployment. Given the rippling effects of the shrinkage of the economy in the 2020 fiscal year, there is the need for a comprehensive strategy that will consider the rapid recovery of the economy in the short to medium terms without neglecting the social fabric of the citizenry.”

On the part of the TUC, it also noted that the 2021 Budget, being the first under the Ghana CARES programme, must lead the way on job creation and offer real and comprehensive support to a domestic industry.

“This can be done in a number of ways; first, domestic firms must be rescued from the destructive competition in the name of trade liberalization and believe that it requires overhauling the nation’s trade policy regime and practices,” the statement said.