Minister of state at the finance ministry Abene Osei Asare said the government is using the COVID-19 Levy introduced in 2020 to purchase vaccines.
Despite the pandemic’s decline, she said the government continues to address it effects.
The government on Wednesday July 24, 2024 defended the retention of a COVID-19 Levy, rejecting calls from the business community to scrap the tax.
Speaking before the Public Account Committee PAC Abena Osei Asare defended the ongoing collections and use of the levy suggesting it remains necessary for managing the pandemic’s impact.
The levy, introduced to fund pandemic-related expenses, has drawn criticism from businesses arguing it is no longer necessary and is harming investment.
However, Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei-Asare told parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that the government still needed the revenue to address lingering financial fallout from the pandemic, including vaccine costs.
She stated that the threat of COVID-19 is no more, but the impact of Covid is still with us.
There are so many things we did during the pandemic that we have had to take care of.
The effect of Covid is still with us and that money is being used to address part of the effect of Covid 19.
Covid is gone, but the effect is still with us. We still have to pay for vaccines” she added
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Story by Osei Akoto (Teacher Kojo) #Ahotoronline.com
