President Akufo Addo has said his government will take decisive action against multinationals that fail to honour their tax obligations in the country but continue to operate.
He said such companies are involved in massive capital flight from the country, an act his government will not encourage.
“[We’ll make sure that] the big players in our economy, the mining companies, the oil companies and the telecom companies amongst others pay their correct taxes. For far too long, such companies have been the source of the massive flight of capital from our country. I am a firm believer in honest profits and I will not condone illicit financial outflows. We know how injurious this has been to Africa’s development,” he said.
[contextly_sidebar id=”NGeIaEZxzGDTZnqoVCFPNa3DfGJEEA7L”]Speaking at the 3rd CEO’s Summit in Accra, Akufo-Addo said the practice by these companies deprived the government of the necessary revenue for developmental projects in the country.
President Akufo-Addo’s caution follows a similar one by the vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who earlier this month lamented that the country was not getting any profit from its 10% carried interest in mining.
Dr Bawumia who expressed disquiet about the development disclosed that mining companies operating in the country have since 2012 refused to pay the dividend to government, stating that they made no significant profit.
“Ghana as in many countries in the mining sector, for example, has a carried interest of about 10 percent. Out of this carried interest, the expectation is that Ghana would receive dividend for this carried interest in our mines. When we look at the data, however, we see a matrix of zeros as far as the dividends that Ghana earns from this carried interest from 2012 is concerned,” he said.
“So it means to a large extent the carried interest in mining is virtually useless as far as Ghana is concerned because we are earning zero from it, and we need to take a relook at this whole regime because the companies say they are not making profits to pay dividend but they keep mining”.
Dr Bawumia, however, said the government was taking practical steps to ensure that it gets what is due it.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citinewsroom.com/Ghana