Parliament cannot sign blank cheques - Oppong Nkrumah on multi-year tax deal

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ranking Member on Parliament's Economy and Development Committee, warned on Tuesday on JoyNews' PM Express that Parliament cannot approve multi-year financial commitments without full disclosure of the details involved. He stated, "In 2018, the Akufo-Addo government passed the Taxation Fiscal Electronic Devices Act, which was supposed to roll out fiscal electronic devices at points of sale so that VAT was automated, and they want to execute it."

Oppong Nkrumah, the Ofoase Ayirebi MP, said the Minority opposed a request for parliamentary approval for the rollout of fiscal electronic devices because key information was not provided. He explained that Parliament was being asked to approve a commitment without knowing the total cost, duration, contractor involved, or the yearly impact on public finances. He stressed that the Minority was not against the fiscal electronic devices project itself but wanted Parliament to have access to the necessary information before granting approval.