The Executive Secretary of AmCham Ghana, Simon Madjie, has appealed to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to adopt a business-friendly approach to revenue mobilisation to help protect the operations of businesses in the country.
“The Chamber supports the government’s domestic revenue mobilisation efforts but would ask the Ghana Revenue Authority to adopt a more business-friendly approach to the implementation of government policies on revenue mobilisation.
“This is imperative in order not to scare away existing investors, as some of the actions can adversely impact their capitalisation. Maintaining the ease of doing business is vital to the country’s economic recovery,” he said.
Mr Madjie who made the call in his new year welcome message, said his outfit was hopeful for a successful year although the chamber was not oblivious of the country’s current economic situation with a projected Gross Domestic Product (GPD) growth rate of 2.9 per cent.
He said the chamber has charted such a course before, and was assertive that its members have the resilience to weather the storm.
Mr Madjie added that the pushback to the government’s GH₵137.3 billion debt restructuring program by affected parties, was causing some economic uncertainties.
However, AmCham remained confident that further dialogue will result in all issues being resolved amicably for the country to begin the process of recovery.
“The Chamber has also noticed the reversal of the benchmark value on imports. As much as we appreciate the effort, we want to urge the authorities to follow the principles of “transaction value” and the other procedures of valuation provided under the WTO’s Customs Valuation Agreement. We believe this will provide some predictability and help minimise the cost of importation.
“The Chamber will continue with our efforts in advocating for a business-friendly environment,” he assured.
Source: Graphic Online