The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee and Member of Parliament for Tano North, Dr Gideon Boako, has accused the government of imposing an increasing tax burden on Ghanaians, arguing that recent fiscal measures demonstrate a preference for raising taxes instead of addressing inefficiencies in revenue collection.
Speaking in Parliament on Friday, July 31, during deliberations on the extension of the Energy Sector Recovery Levy to fuel oil, Dr Boako questioned the government’s justification for the proposal. He argued that issues such as fuel smuggling and tax non-compliance should be addressed through stronger enforcement rather than by extending existing levies.
According to him, the government introduced the GH¢1 per litre Energy Sector Recovery Levy last year to repay debts in the energy sector, yet the intended objective had not been achieved.
He maintained that the government should account for the use of the levy before seeking to widen its application.
“It seems this government fancies burdening the Ghanaian taxpayer with more taxes. The supermajority Ghanaians gave them is being abused. No matter what the Minority says, they don’t care,” Dr Boako said.
He further cautioned Ghanaians against giving any political party an overwhelming majority in Parliament, arguing that such dominance weakens parliamentary oversight and allows governments to push through policies without sufficient scrutiny.
“Ghana should never make that mistake of giving one political party such a supermajority in Parliament,” he added.