Tax Burden: Minority Claims Akufo-Addo Government Preparing To Introduce New Levy To Support Bank Of Ghana

• The Minority in Parliament has warned Ghanaians that the government could introduce a new tax to support the Bank of Ghana.
• The Minority has said this new tax will be described as the Bank of Ghana recapitalisation levy
• The Bank of Ghana lost GH¢55.12 billion due to haircuts that its investments suffered under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme

The Minority in Parliament is claiming the government will soon introduce a Bank of Ghana (BoG) recapitalisation levy for Ghanaians to pay.

The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, explained that this would be used to support the central bank after its record losses.

This assertion follows the NDC's call for the Bank of Ghana leadership to resign after GH¢60 billion in losses.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Forson said the IMF would also play a part in this possible levy.

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“That is why paragraph 18 of Ghana’s Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy (MEFP) sent to IMF stated this fact. Let me assure you that very soon, Ghanaians will be made to pay for Bank of Ghana recapitalization levy, a tax to recapitalise the Bank of Ghana, because the central bank has collapsed virtually,” he said.

Forson further criticised the BoG for spending $250 million on building a new head office amid the struggles.

“In our circumstances, this is the height of insensitivity in the management of the finances of a troubled country,” he stressed.

Losses due to Domestic Debt Exchange Programme

The BoG grabbed headlines after it disclosed in its 2022 annual financial report that it lost GH¢55.12 billion due to haircuts that its investments suffered under the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

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BoG said its holdings of marketable and non-marketable instruments were exchanged for lower-yielding instruments under the DDEP.

The central bank governor Dr Ernest Addison said in the 2022 report that he was working to ensure that equity was restored to a positive path by the end of 2027.

BoG vows never to lend money to government

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the BoG will no longer lend money to the government in its bid to avoid a repeat of the loss that happened in 2022.

The central bank said the zero-financing policy is also part of a grand plan to recoup some GH¢60.8 billion it lost in 2022.

Director of Research at the BoG Dr Philip Abradu-Otoo disclosed during a TV programme that the policy would be implemented to the letter.

He also said claims that it lost close to GH¢60 billion in 2022 due to reckless spending are unfounded.

Source: YEN.com.gh