The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah is expected to meet traders of the Adum Business Community today, Thursday, October 13, 2022.
The meeting has been necessitated by an ongoing protest by the traders, who are lamenting what they refer to as high taxes on their businesses.
The traders in Adum have since Monday closed their shops, while others in areas such as Bantama have replicated the action.
Citi News sources indicate that the minister engaged officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority on Wednesday over concerns of the traders.
Some businesses in Kumasi have not been operating for the past three days in protest of the uneven implementation of the Value Added Tax.
The protesting businesses have complained that the tax structure and its administration do not support the features of the fast-moving goods market.
They also said the lack of VAT compliance means the compliant businesses are competing with fellow businesses offering cheaper prices.
The national representative for the traders, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), has thrown its weight behind the actions of the business operators.
In addition, the traders have also been concerned with the strength of the cedi.
The Ghana cedi has depreciated by 37.5% to the US dollar as of the end of September 2022 according to the Bank of Ghana.
Currently, the dollar is trading at a little over GH¢11 to $1.
GUTA has warned of more agitations across the country if the concerns of traders are not addressed.
“First, we were managing our frustration, but now our frustration has turned into anger and that is what is showing in the business community. This is only the beginning because others are going to follow. If I listen to the agitations of our members, it means that a lot more is going to follow, and it is going to be massive”, says GUTA president, Dr. Joseph Obeng.
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