MADRID, 1 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Parliament of Ghana has approved this Saturday by a single vote of difference a disputed initiative to increase certain taxes in the country in response to the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with a view to granting a crucial loan for the country.
The new fiscal package contemplates an increase in taxes on income and on tobacco and alcoholic beverages, as well as on companies in the country, to collect the additional 330 million euros requested by the IMF in exchange for a loan estimated as a whole in about 2,700 million euros.
Parliament has approved the measure by 137 votes in favor to 136 against, according to the Ghanaian portal Graphic on Line.
The African country is currently in a tough process of restructuring its public debt (about 45,000 million euros), to obtain IMF financing for the end of this month, according to the best prospects of the governor of the Central Bank of the African country, Ernest Addison.
It should be remembered that the national and international bond markets are currently not available for financing government programs, which leaves Treasury Bills and loans as the main sources of income for fiscal year 2023.
The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo defended the introduction of taxes as a necessary measure to help the recovery from the current economic crisis.
