Condoms will not be exclusively taxed – Minister

The proposed tax on condom is not exclusive, but formed part of the items and commodities that Government is roping into the tax net, Mr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Deputy Minister for Information and Media Relations, has stated.

He said it was unfair for a section of the Ghanaian media to highlight on one commodity out of the lot that Government wants to be captured in the tax net.

Mr Mohammed, who was speaking during the daily media briefings at the Flagstaff House, Kanda on Friday, said government has not concluded on any decision to impose taxes but it was making tax proposal to Parliament for debate and consideration.

“The tax if approved will not cover even all the condoms as has been put out there by the media, but will tax only ‘luxurious and expensive condoms’, he said.

The Deputy Minister wondered why the media should single out only condoms among the range of commodities Government had listed for taxation.

Mr Mohammed said: “I will prefer that the media conduct their investigations thoroughly before coming out with some of these stories.”

He said that the tax proposal was currently being handled by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, which had not yet received parliamentary approval and called on Ghanaians to ignore the alarming and distorted information that was put out.

On Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur’s visit to Abuja, the Deputy Minister said his meeting gave Ghana the opportunity to explain to other African leaders, measures Government had taken to reduce the incidence of HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Mr Mohammed explained that while HIV and AIDS were reducing drastically, tuberculosis on the other hand was increasing and pledged Government’s commitment to fight the incidence.

On investigations on the recent fire out breaks in some major markets in the country, the Deputy Minister said that the Committee and the investigations team tasked to look into the matter would soon present a report to the President for the next line of action.

Source: GNA