Former President John Dramani Mahama has promised to provide some tax reliefs to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) should he be voted into power in the December 7 general elections.
He says, his next administration is determined to offer incentives to the business sector to cushion them for the creation of more job opportunities.
The former President announced that from 2021, the reliefs which include tax exemptions and reduction will enable private and public SMEs to recover from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to expand their scope of production.
Mr. Mahama was speaking at a campaign interaction with the leadership of organized labour and professional groups at the Ho Technical University on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, as part of his Volta Regional tour.
“Within the first three months of 2021, I will lay before Parliament several bills that will seek to grant tax reliefs to SMEs. Effective 2021, small businesses will be exempted completely from corporate income tax. Corporate income tax for medium size companies will be reduced from the current 25% to 15%” while “newly established medium-sized companies that employ staff up to 20 will be completely exempted from the payment of corporate income tax for one year.”
“All newly established medium enterprises that employ more than 20 staff will be exempted completely from the payment of corporate income tax for two years”, he added. Import duties
Mahama also disclosed that his government from 2021 exempt all other equipment imported into the country for commercial, industry and agricultural purposes from import duties.
“We will exempt commercial vehicles, industrial and agricultural machinery from import duties”, he said.
He used the occasion to reiterate his campaign message ahead of the official launch of the party’s manifesto.
“Do not despair. Hope is on the horizon. The new NDC administration is going to energise the economic acceleration of this country so that we can create jobs for our young people; so that our investment will be into production rather than consumption”, he assured.
