“It is unfortunate that at the time when global effort is against financial secrecy, particularly in the interest of developing countries, our Government is seeking to glorify offshore transactions in order to profit from the opacity.”
That is the response of the Tax Justice Coalition-Ghana to the registration of a company in Jersey Offshore a tax heaven to manage 76% of Ghana’s Royalties.
Government says the decision to register the company in a tax haven would ensure tax reprieve as well as encourage investors to put their monies into the Agyapa Royalties.
Tax Justice Coalition-Ghana however says the government is engaging in “repugnant” conduct.
In a statement issued by its Coordinator Bernard Anaba, the Coalition said the action of government is “an anti-government act for any person to seek to hide away from taxes”
“The Government’s operations hinge on taxes and any government that engages in a transaction in order to evade taxes would not be worth the taxes they collect from the people,” they stated.
The Tax Justice Coalition-Ghana said it expected the government of Ghana to join hands with other African countries to stand against the activities of tax havens because they “feeds into the larger problem of illicit financial flows from Africa.”
“These moneys are usually locked away from regular government taxes but have usually been generated from these same developing countries through supper normal profits and base erosion of our production systems. Developing countries generally have suffered from this phenomenon in tax havens and unfortunately our government by this opaque deal, seeks to glorify a perennial injustice,” the coalition added.
The Coalition has therefore backed calls for Government to “stand down” on the “opaque Agyapa deal for further review.”
The Coalition fears going ahead with the arrangement would “send the wrong signals to citizens that it is okay to seek to hide one’s taxes from Government through a tax haven.”
Story: Sena Nombo/Radiogoldlive.com
