Complaints desk created for high tax concerns – Minister

Mr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, the Minister of Health, has said a complaints desk has been established at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to receive complaints from members of the public with invoices of high taxes.

He said the establishment of the desk is to help ensure that members of the public with high tax complains can report their concerns.

Mr Agyemang Manu said this when he accompanied Mr Drissa Ouattara, the Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive to pay a courtesy call on Osagyefo Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount chief of Dormaa Traditional Area to formally introduce himself to the chief following his appointment as the Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive.

He dismissed claims that government has imposed high taxes on goods from the ports and certain border locations like Gonokrom – Cote d’ Ivoire border forcing trucks to mass up in those areas.

The Minister said it is a deliberate attempt to discredit and make government unpopular as a result of good policies and initiatives it was putting in place to block loopholes which cause drain on government’s revenue collection and mobilisation efforts.

“We are considering instituting a legal action against the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for failure to check corruption at its check points which has led the nation to lose huge revenues”, he said.

He said government was disinterested in imposing high taxes on businesses and goods and services as it has the tendency to cripple or stifle the growth of businesses and the economy adding that this was evident during the presentation of the mid-year budget which highlighted a drastic reduction of taxes.

He said a $320,000 budget allocation has been set aside for poverty eradication for each constituency.

Mr Agyemang Manu said government was committed to fulfilling its campaign promises including the restoration of nurses allowance adding that arrangements towards this pledge would soon begin.

Source: GNA