Bawumia Vows To Reduce Mining Export Tax To 1 Per Cent To Curb Smuggling
- Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has released his strategy to combat gold smuggling
- According to him, his plan is to reduce the tax handle on gold exports from 1.5% to 1% if elected president
- He explained that a lower tax regime would encourage legal and transparent transactions, boosting the country’s gold production volumes
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Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has vowed to reduce the mining export tax from 1.5% to 1% if elected president in the upcoming December 7 polls.
According to Dr Bawumia, the tax policy strategically discourages gold smuggling by making legitimate transactions financially appealing to miners.
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He said gold smuggling is a significant problem in the country’s mining sector, causing the government to lose billions of dollars annually.
He explained that a lower tax regime would encourage legal and transparent transactions, boosting the country’s gold production volumes.
According to Dr Bawumia, with the country already implementing a ‘gold for oil’ policy and the central bank buying up large amounts of gold to shore up the cedi from depreciating further, increasing gold volumes in the country would boost these programmes.
He said the programmes are necessary for economic stability and Ghana’s financial resilience.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer stated that a previous reduction in the gold export levy from 3% to 1.5% in 2021 led to a significant decrease in gold smuggling.
He believes a further reduction in the gold export levy would encourage more adherence to the legal export practices and contribute to a more controlled and transparent gold market.
Bawumia commissions gold refinery in Accra
Earlier, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned a new gold refinery in Accra, the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery.
The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, which has been in operation since 2022, was commissioned on Thursday, August 9, 2024, as part of a government-driven agenda to add value to gold ore mined in Ghana.
The government believes the refinery would allow the country to earn more from the precious metal.
Reuters reported that the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery can process 400 kilogrammes (Kg) of gold daily and will source gold dore from small-scale and artisanal miners.
The refinery is set to acquire licences to process gold from large-scale miners.
The Bank of Ghana has also acquired a 20% stake in the refinery in partnership with Rosy Royals Minerals of India.
Bawumia suggests Cedi be pegged to gold
YEN.com.gh reported that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had suggested a plan to anchor the value of the Cedi to gold.
This will be part of efforts to cushion the local currency against forex challenges from depreciation.
This follows the success of the domestic gold purchase programme, under which the Bank of Ghana has acquired 65.4 tons of gold valued at US$5 billion, significantly boosting Ghana’s gold reserves.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
