NDC not against 1D1F, tax exemptions were too high – Deputy finance minister nominee

Deputy Finance Minister nominee, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has clarified that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not opposed to the government’s flagship One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative but expressed concerns over the alarming rate at which tax exemptions were granted under the programme.

Speaking during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Mr Ampem highlighted issues surrounding the fairness and transparency of the tax exemption process, noting that led to the party’s objections in the eighth Parliament.

“No, we are not against 1D1F, but we realised that the rate at which tax exemptions were being given out was alarming.

“We also did not feel there was a fair and scientific approach in selecting companies that would come under the 1D1F exemption regime,” he explained.

Mr Ampem, who previously served on the Finance Committee of Parliament, recalled numerous debates over exemption requests.

“I remember during committee sessions, the leader and I had several back-and-forth discussions about this. On one occasion, an exemption request we initially rejected was later resubmitted with a drastic reduction. This showed that some of the requests were inflated,” he revealed.

He further emphasised that opposition to the unchecked tax exemptions wasn’t limited to NDC members, adding that some members from the then-ruling NPP side also agreed with them.

“It was something in the interest of Mother Ghana, that we felt that we should object,” he pointed out.

Source: myjoyonline.com