14-taxes imposed on imported raw material is crippling manufacturing – GFL

Over 14 taxes imposed on the importation of raw materials are crippling the manufacturing sector, Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has revealed.

He has, therefore, called on the Government and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to consider reviewing the tax regime and removing some of the taxes on the importation of raw materials for the manufacturing industry to survive.

Mr Koomson, speaking at Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue, indicated that the over-taxation of raw material importation was gradually crippling the manufacturing sector of the country, and something must be done about it urgently. He mentioned the taxes on the raw materials as Import Duty, Import Value Added Tax (VAT), National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL), Covid-19 Levy, GETFund Levy, Net Charges, ECOWAS Levy, and Shippers Levy.

Others are the Disinfection Fee, Ministry of Trade, and Industry (MOTI) E-One District One Factory Fee, Inspection Fee, African Union Levy, Special Import Levy, and EXIM Levy.

“How can you produce with such taxes around your neck and suffocating you, that is why all the companies are running down,” he lamented.

Mr Koomson reminded the Government that with such huge taxations, manufacturing industries could not produce at competitive prices and still break even leading to most of them shutting down their operations.

He indicated that the GFL was in talks with the Association of Ghana Industries(AGI) to jointly tackle the issue; adding that other stakeholders would also be contacted for their inputs on the overburdened taxes on raw materials.

He disclosed that the Ghana Federation of Labour had already written to the GRA for a meeting to discuss the issue among others adding that they were also considering petitioning Parliament on the taxes to ensure that the industries survived and provided the needed jobs for the large unemployed youth.

“If nothing is done about it, it will wreck the whole system down and unemployment will continue to increase,” he added.