The Institute of Economic Affairs is contacting for a comprehensive personal debt administration system to assistance bring some aid to the country’s financial debt assistance burden.

The country’s financial debt degrees has surpassed the dreaded 70% personal debt to Gross Domestic Product or service (GDP) mark, a condition which has compelled the Global Monetary Fund and the Globe Lender to classify Ghana as a remarkably financial debt distress nation.

The country presently spends 56% of tax revenue to settle interest payments.

Director of Research at IEA, Dr. John Kwakye claims Ghana’s credit card debt may well continue being over the threshold for quite a few additional yrs to come.

“As we stated earlier mentioned, in 2021, we will be utilizing as considerably as 56% of our tax profits to pay fascination on our credit card debt. And the ratio could increase about the medium time period, primarily if we adhere to the unambitious earnings targets. Desire payments could really swamp the price range in the coming calendar year if acceptable measures are not taken”, he reported.

“While, a in depth debt administration technique helps bring some reduction to the personal debt services stress, raising revenue though that contains non-capital expenditure, is the greatest way to ease the money stress of financial debt service on a additional sturdy basis”, he additional.

Ghana’s financial debt as of May perhaps 2021 stood at ¢334.6 billion, roughly at 77% of GDP.

This is as opposed with ¢291.6 billion in 2020, ¢218.2 billion in 2019, ¢173.1 billion in 2018, ¢142.5 billion in 2017 and ¢122.2 billion in 2016.

IEA expressed be concerned about country’s low tax-to-GDP

The IEA also expressed fret about the overconcentration of expenditure on consumption as effectively as the country’s reduced tax earnings-to GDP, a situation that it thinks will constrain the economy to a minimal growth trajectory and slow progress, heading ahead. 

It is for that reason contacting for attempts to increase revenue by plugging the a lot of loopholes in the tax technique as very well as a severe expenditure rationalization by curtailing recurrent expenditure or intake to develop place for additional expenditure expenditure.

Recurrent expenditure in 2021 was estimated at ¢109.9 billion and that largely went into salaries and interest payment, though money expenditure was approximated at only ¢17.6 billion.

Dr. John Kwakye said “revenue mobilization however remains a severe problem in Ghana. But this problem is not completely unsurmountable. We only have to do issues a little bit in another way, as continuing to do the exact issues would not give us various results. The tax earnings and overall earnings projections for 2021 are about ¢56 billion ($9.7bn) and ¢72 billion ($12.4) respectively. These are peanuts to say the least. In GDP phrases, the tax and total earnings are 12.7% and 16.5% respectively. These ratios look at unfavourably with our center-revenue peer’s average of 25% and 30%.”

He extra that “we need to have to maximize our income hard work by widening the tax web and plugging the a lot of loopholes. The 2021 price range admitted that tax underreporting and tax evasion abound in the extractives sector, amongst many others. Let us remind ourselves about some of these loopholes that have to have to be tackled as a subject of urgency.”

IEA needs clear classification of electricity and economical expenses

The country’s fiscal or funding hole has also been a matter of discussion amongst the federal government and the opposition.

Government and the opposition have argued nosily about irrespective of whether documented deficits consist of or exclude these costs.

The IEA wants a obvious classification of whether or not the strength and fiscal costs are portion of fiscal deficit, adding, fiscal transparency and trustworthiness call for that these expenses are effectively accounted for.

Dr. Kwakye stated the exact remedy should really be accorded the personal debt, declaring “this will avoid the regular unproductive arguments between government and the opposition concerning the genuine degree of the deficit – and financial debt.”