Government will struggle to meet 2022 revenue target – Seth Terkper
Former Finance Minister under the erstwhile John Mahama administration, Mr Seth Terkper has painted a gloomy picture about the government’s ability to meet its revenue target of the GH¢100 billion despite to introduction of the Electronic Transaction Levy.
The E-levy implementation is expected to come into full force in May 2022 and was originally expected to help bring in about GH¢6.9 billion this year to shore up the government’s revenue.
Per standings now, the total projected revenue for 2022 of a GH¢100 billion, represents a 39% increase over the revised revenue target of GH¢72 billion in 2021.
Mr Terkper pointed out that the target for this year is too ambitious.
“The estimate for 2021 was GH¢72 billion. When the 2022 budget was presented, it changed to GH¢70 billion. The Bank of Ghana’s MPC report suggests that the revenue the country could generate in 2021 was GH¢67 billion. If it is GH¢67 then we have fallen short of the original target by about GH¢ 5 billion.”
“So the question that comes up is if all that the GRA could bring is G¢ 67 billion in 2021, and we are expecting to collect about GH¢30 billion more that represents about half of what GRA brought in last year. So you will agree with me that this year’s target is ambitious, and it includes the E-Levy,” he added.
