Ofori-Atta to present mid-year budget review on July 24

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to present the government’s supplementary budget statement to Parliament on July 24.

The presentation was earlier scheduled to be made on July 17 but has now been pushed a week ahead.

The Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (PFMA) Act-921, requires that the Finance Minister presents a Mid-Year Review to parliament six months after the presentation of the main budget for that fiscal year.

Mr. Ofori-Atta is expected to use the opportunity to review some of the key macroeconomic targets announced in the 2019 budget read last year.

Also, the Minister is expected to outline a number of tax measures that should help boost domestic revenue drive after a run of underperformance in the last two to three years.

Government has consistently spoken of its desire to streamline its tax exemptions regime which is estimated to cost more than 1.6 percent of GDP annually.

Moreover, the government unable to consistently hit its revenue targets, the tax exemptions appears a low hanging fruit government would be seeking to pluck as it bids to collect more revenue to execute its budget ahead of next year’s elections.

Already, there have been a number of reforms at the revenue collecting authority with key commissioners reassigned and others promoted as part of the move to spur revenue collection.

Also expected to feature prominently in the supplementary budget is the review of the luxury vehicle tax which has drawn a varying degree of criticisms from stakeholders.