The Chairman of the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG), John Awuni, has expressed concerns regarding the adverse impact of heavy taxes imposed by the government, leading to the collapse of businesses in the private sector.

During an interview with Bernard Avle on Citi TV’s Point of View, following the State of the Nation address, Mr. Awuni disclosed that numerous companies are opting to relocate their operations to neighbouring countries as a strategic measure to avert failure.

Expressing his discontent with the tax burden affecting the private sector, Mr. Awuni highlighted the multiple taxes contributing to the sector’s challenges.

He cited the COVID-19 levy, the Carbon Emissions Levy, and the Growth and Sustainability tax, among others, as examples.

“The private sector is really under serious tremendous taxes, we still have COVID-19 levy, Carbon Emissions Levy, Growth and Sustainability tax, I can go on and on.

“Our interest rates and inflation rates remain very high, our currency remains highly unstable which makes the players lose their capital by the day. There’s a high level of unemployment that shows that the private sector is not doing well.

“As a result of the high level of taxation and the poor performance of the private sector, people have devised various means of making their businesses survive. We’re in an era where most players in the private sector have started repositioning their businesses in the neighbouring countries. In Cote D’Ivoire and Togo, most importers right now are routing their imports through Togo and Cote D’Ivoire and that has shown clearly in our imports data.”

Citinewsroom