Brace yourselves for more taxes in next budget to support govt's borrowing - Joe jackson predicts

Pulse News

October 24, 2021 2:50 PM

The Director of Strategy and Business Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has revealed that he expects the Finance Ministry to announce an increase in taxes in the next budget.

Joe Jackson

According to the financial expert, Ghana finds itself in a precarious debt situation and thus, “in this new budget, taxes have to go up”.

He made the revelation on Citi FM on Saturday, October 22.

“They have to address the issues of exemptions and property taxes,” he added.

He opined that Ghana must continue borrowing to keep the economy afloat, and the borrowing would have to be offset by revenue from taxes.

“Borrowing is not a choice. We can’t exist without borrowing. We have gone past that point. Not to borrow will crash the economy,” he stated.

Mr. Jackson also stated that the country’s current debt stock of GHS332 billion, means Ghanaians must prepare for a tough economic period ahead.

“For anyone who thinks life is going to be easy, it is going to be a tough time,” Mr. Jackson warned.

He concluded that the current state of the economy means the Akufo-Addo led administration has no choice but to fall on the IMF for support.

“The conversation [about IMF support] has to be how we make it as politically palatable as possible," he said on Citi FM's political show, The Big Issue.

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