Questionable US$ 24 million Tax Waiver for Prez’s In-Law draws blood

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has courted yet another scandal that it is drawing widespread public angst following revelations that President Akufo Addo’s in-laws are being set up to enjoy a whopping GHC 24 million tax waiver on a US$ 73 million Project.
On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta presented a Paper to Parliament requesting for waiver of Import Duties, Import VAT, Import NHIL Levy, Import GETFund Levy, Domestic VAT, Domestic NHIL and Domestic GETFund amounting to a whopping US$24 million on a hotel project estimated to cost US $ 73 million.
The tax waiver is for materials and equipment for Platinum Properties Limited owned by Dr. Kwame Nyantekyi-Owusu who is the husband of the junior sister of First Lady Rebecca Akufo Addo.
Critics have cited this a gross display of nepotism by the Akufo Addo administration.
Also curious is the fact that the US$ 73 million project will consist of more than US$ 66 million imported materials and equipment, while only a paltry US$ 6 million of input will be sourced from Ghana.
Analysts say the reason for such high import is because Platinum Properties is certain it will enjoy massive tax waivers from its relatives in government.
On Monday, December 17, 2018, President Akufo Addo, cut the sod for the commencement
Whatsup News is in possession of a long paper trail of the request for tax waiver that went through the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), the Finance Ministry (headed by President Akufo Addo’s Cousin), Office of the President and finally to the Ghanaian Parliament.
The project dubbed the Pullman Accra City Hotel & Services Apartments is a dual-hospitality project being touted as “Ghana’s largest and most distinguished hotel facility”
Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sent a note to the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, demanding that he immediately withdraws a tax waiver request for an amount of US$24 million tax waiver, saying the waiver does not conform to the official protocols.
The NDC insists the waiver is a clear abuse of power and that never in the history of the country has such a tax waiver request been made for a wholly Ghanaian private firm where the government or State has no interest in the project that entity will execute or undertake.
The tax waiver request, according to inside sources, has already received Cabinet approval.
“The concerns of the Minority in this matter is the quantum of the money involved. It is extremely unacceptable that we are being asked to waive a tax of almost US$24million which is the equivalent of GH?136,000million in favour of a purely private owned company with no state interest in this company. Now, what therefore is the benefit of the Republic of Ghana, particularly, when the location of the said hotel which is at the Airport City enclave contain other private properties which have been constructed by other citizens and other private companies who didn’t enjoy tax waiver? So, already you are placing this competitor at an advantage” stated Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, a spokesperson for the Minority and North Dayi.
“Now we grant tax waivers – the protocols in respect of tax waivers are always in respect of bilateral agreements to which we are seeking for facilities and the facilities are supposed to be used to undertake structural development and or for purposes of social interventions for which some materials or other things would have to be imported and as a result of which the negotiations will factor into it that if taxes were not be waived, then the cost of the facility will be much higher to the state. That is how the calculations are done so that when taxes are waived, the cost of the facility in terms of interest payables are at an appreciable or at an acceptable level for the Republic of Ghana to execute”, he noted.
According to him, per content of the Memo to Parliament, there is strangely no opinion from GRA about this huge tax waiver.