The Chairman of Joy Dadi Industries, Manfred Takyi, has urged government to give strong consideration to local beverage companies by granting them tax waivers that boost their production and raise more revenue.

Mr. Takyi said government must consider granting beverage companies tax exemptions for a period of at least 10 years.

Addressing members of the Parliamentary press corps at the company’s head office in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, Dr. Takyi said: “The time has come for government to single out the companies doing well in the sector, in order to give them tax holidays as with the foreign companies.

“When you talk of tax exemptions, we have been emphasising them; and we know government is going to listen and give some of the serious companies in Ghana tax exemptions or tax holidays for a minimum of ten years.

“This will put us in a very good position and the country won’t have to go and borrow again, because government will rake in lots of returns from us,” he said.

He is of the view that foreign firms that tend to enjoy a lot of tax exemptions must not be permitted to repatriate all their profits, but be made, by law, to reinvest in the economy; which will create more jobs and bring about growth and development.

Foreign companies who operate in some regions of the country enjoy tax-free status, while others enjoy tax holidays of up to 10 years. The Free Zones Act 504 provides tax-holidays of 10 years for companies operating in areas demarcated as Free Zones. Thereafter, corporate tax is paid at the rate not above 8 percent.

According to George Kwatia of PwC, in recent times the maximum tax rate of 8 percent for income generated from foreign markets has been increased to up to 15 percent after the 10-year tax holiday. In addition, the tax rate applicable on income from the domestic market has been increased from a maximum 8 percent to 25 percent.

He noted that these tax-breaks go to help those foreign firms, and serve as a disadvantage to the local companies that are interested in the economy growth and sustainability.

Dr. Takyi further stated that the cedi’s instability can also be blamed partly on arbitrary profit repatriation, since millions of dollars are repatriated on an annual basis; but should a percentage of that money be reinvested here, the currency would see some stability.

CEO of the company, Mr. Harrison Tetteh, also added that one of the beverage companies’ banes is import duties, which he says “is hurting us. If the duties shoot up, we are also forced to increase the price of our products”.