Bagging only GHC25m from 'ill-advised' luxury car tax means it must go – Mahama

Former President John Mahama has said he will scrap the luxury car tax imposed by the Akufo-Addo government, should he win the 2020 general elections.

The “ill-conceived” tax, he said, has brought untold hardship to commercial drivers and their business, thus, his aim to let it go.

During his pre-Easter Walkabout in some major bus terminals in Accra, such as Tudu, Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Kaneshie, the flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said: “Not too long ago, the government introduced the luxury vehicle tax.

“This tax was not well-thought through before it was rolled out. They should have exempted all commercial vehicles”, he told the drivers.

Mr Maham explained that: “There are commercial vehicles without the yellow plates, but rather white plates, yet they carry commercial goods”, so, “Once they exceed three litres, they are charged this luxury tax”, adding: “This has brought untold hardship on some of the drivers, especially those who work for the companies and others”.

“Just recently”, he said, “I heard that the government has only been able to raise GHS25 million from the luxury tax. If that is the case, then they should abolish it. If they don’t, we the NDC government will abolish it when we come into power,” he added.

The luxury car tax was introduced in the middle of 2018 through the mid-year budget. It was projected to bag about GHS104 million by the end of December last year. The tax affects all vehicles with engine capacities of 2.9 litres and above. It is projected to rake in GHS300 million by the end of 2019.