The Individual Bondholders Forum (IBF) has recommended many fiscal readjustment measures to the government, claiming that doing so will result in revenue savings totaling GHS 83.45 billion.
The IBF emphasizes that the fiscal readjustment recommendations to the government will assist Ghana reach its goal of debt sustainability, a requirement for a $3 billion IMF bailout, and will help control the current economic crisis.
In its interactions with the government, the Technical Committee of the IBF reiterated its position that individual bondholders should not be considered.
It claimed that fiscal readjustments could be made in the fields of oil and gas, mining, SOE divestitures, property taxes, money recovered through financial irregularities, money recovered through tax evasion, and SOE budget rationalization, among others.
The IBF asserts that it believes its fiscal readjustment proposals are “capable enough” to manage the nation’s pressing fiscal issues and help it achieve the goal debt-to-GDP ratio of 55 percent that the IMF has suggested.
The IBF requests that the government enforce the filing of interest and coupon revenue from corporate instruments like ESLA and Daakye Cocoa as part of personal income tax and implement the 25% tax on the linked income.
Alternately, increase the withholding of the connected securities from 1% to 20%, make it final, and make it deductible at source. For the current fiscal year, an additional GHS 104 million in revenue is anticipated as a result.
The IBF additionally suggested that the government evaluate the fiscal and regulatory framework as soon as possible to incentivize current producers to increase output and explore new markets.
