The Upper East Regional Communication Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jonathan Abdallah Salifu has insisted that the 20 percent import duty tax and 12.5 per cent VAT on sanitary pads should have been scrapped in the midyear budget review.
According to him, the tax on sanitary pads has imposed more hardship on innocent girls who by no fault of theirs had to go through a natural menstrual cycle.
The communication Director argued that” it was better taxing condoms than sanitary pads” as using a condom was a choice and individuals who wanted to remain faithful may not need to go for one but sanitary pads are a basic requirement for all women in their menstrual cycle.
He made these assertions when he was speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East show after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, presented the midyear budget review on 31st June 2023.
Mr. Abdallah Salifu noted that the issue of sanitary pads in the country has become a major concern, drawing the attention of many individuals and non-governmental organisations that supported young girls in securing pads and it was important that the government abolish the tax.
But, the Regional Communication Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Peter Ayinbisa thinks otherwise, despite stating that “I am of personal opinion that sanitary pads should not be taxed to the extent of which they are taxed”.
He argued that “Having gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government needed to aggressively mobilise resource within and as part of government attempt to mobilise resources locally there was the need for government to stretch the tax net to cover various areas”
He noted that the country’s debt as made known by the IMF was not sustainable and that even necessitated the Debt Exchange Programme.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
