The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said it will reduce the cost of doing business through tax cuts as part of initiatives to create the one-million jobs it has promised to deliver in four years, if it wins the upcoming elections.
The NDC National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said the tax rebates would help the private sector to plough back their savings into their businesses, expand and create sustainable jobs.
Shedding light on the NDC’s one million jobs agenda at the party’s weekly press briefing in Accra yesterday, he said the country’s continuous decline on World Bank’s ease of doing business index was mainly due to high tax payments.
According to Mr Gyamfi, the 25 per cent corporate income tax for small businesses would be totally scrapped, Corporate Income tax for medium-scale businesses would be reduced from 25 per cent to 15 per cent.
He said a two-year Corporate Income tax exemption would be given to newly incorporated medium-scale businesses that employed 20 people and above in addition to two-year tax holiday for youth startups and businesses.
Aside the tax rebates, he said, the NDC would give affordable credit to Ghanaian businesses using the Ghana EXIMbank and create jobs in the construction sector through the Big Push – a $10 billion investment in infrastructure development.
Mr Gyamfi said the party would rapidly transform agriculture through modernisation and mechanisation and create agro production and processing zones across the country as a better alternative to the One –District-One Factory programme.
In the public sector, he said, jobs would be created through recruitment to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), other less resourced offices and new programmes that would be created.
“The next NDC government would increase support to the local pharmaceutical industry and mining sector to create jobs while protecting the environment from degradation,” he said.
On sources of income to support the agenda ,Mr Gyamfi said, the party, would reset government’s spending priorities, cut down wasteful expenditures by reducing the number of ministers by at least 40 and presidential staffers by at least 200 to save GH¢63 million and GH¢186 million, respectively.
He said the party would maximise revenue mobilisation by ensuring strict tax compliance, the expansion of the tax net and channel greater percentage of oil revenues into development projects and productive initiatives to create sustainable jobs.
The job creation agenda, he said, it would be anchored on some employment reforms including an employment Act to provide a framework for job creation and labour market statistics.
He said a three shift-economy would be created to create additional jobs for people as well as decentralise and convert the defunct Labour Office into the National Employment Bureau to serve as a job agency.
“To the millions of unemployed people in Ghana today, particularly the youth, please don’t despair. There is hope for you in the Peoples’ manifesto. Vote John Dramani Mahama and the NDC for permanent and decent well-paid jobs,” he said
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
