The Majority in Parliament has asked the NDC MPs to stop making noise about tax waivers to companies under the One District One Factory programme. It said the NDC under President John Mahama illegally granted tax waivers to some companies.
According to the Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the former President designated some companies as “strategic investors” and granted them tax waivers without passing through parliament. He said one of the beneficiaries is Dzata Cement, owned by the former President’s brother Ibrahim Mahama.
“Dzata Cement was a company that benefitted from this unconstitutional and illegal tax incentives but we all know that by the imperative of the [1992] Constitution, it is only Parliament that can impose tax or waive taxation but some actions of the executive under certain rule of necessity, Dzata Cement was granted a tax waiver and we did not complain because we were told that Dzata Cement was a strategic investor.”
Afenyo-Markin reaction follows the NDC’s rejection of a tax waiver worth $ 335 million to 42 companies under the 1D1F programme.
He said the NDC granted tax waivers worth $832 million to Meridian Port Services, MPS, a foreign company but is resisting tax waivers for 42 Ghanaian companies at a combined value less than half of what the NDC gave out for free.
“Seth Tekper, Mona Quartey and Ato Forson brought the deal to Parliament. Meridian Port Services was to invest a little over US$ 1.5 billion. So, from the tax waiver of US$ 832 million granted them by the NDC government, what that meant was that for that investment made, the government of Ghana gave away 55 Cents in tax waiver for every dollar that MPS requested.”
Afenyo-Markin said one of the companies Sentuo Oil Refinery is supposed to engage in oil refinery, a major investment for the country.
“Under the 1D1F, all the 42 companies that government has so far brought to Parliament for tax waivers, the total tax waiver being applied for by the government is not even up to US$450million and these are Ghanaian companies that are registered in Ghana. Even so, there is one company, Sentuo, which is supposed to undertake an oil refinery as a major investment.”
Under the proposal, Sentuo Oil Refinery would receive $164, 633, 012. 00 in tax waivers, the largest among the 42 companies. Sunda Ghana Investment Limited and Sunda Ghana Limited would receive $22,897, 602.41 and $23, 690, 843. 79 respectively.
