Below is the summary of the 2023 budget from the finance minister, Kenneth Ofori Atta.
REVIEW TAX MEASURES IN 2023 BUDGET
1. E-Levy headline rate reduced to 1%
2. Value Added Tax increased from 12.5 percent to 15 percent
3. Benchmark discount policy to be fully phased out in 2023
4. Additional income tax bracket of 35% to be introduced.
HIGHLIGHT ON THE ECONOMY
1. Gross International Reserves at end of September 2022 was $6,591.8 million
2. The Public Debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 75.9% at the end of September 2022
3. Overall budget cash deficit stands at GH¢44bn
4. Total Gross Public Debt stands at GH¢467.4bn, representing 75.9% of GDP
5. Banking sector total assets grew by 43.7%
(GH¢249.86bn) as of October 2022.
HIGHLIGHT ON TRADE SECTOR
1. Trade balance improved to a surplus of $1.:751bn by September 2022
2. Total exports rose by 18.30% to US$13bn
Merchandise imports increased by 12.4% to
$11.3bn
3. Earnings from gold exports amounted to
$4.8bn
4. Export Trade Houses to be esttablished in selected markets starting with Kenya.
HIGHLIGHT ON AGRIC SECTOR
1. Quota for organic fertilizer suppliers increased to cover shortfalls.
2. Local organic fertilizer production plants to be expanded with support from EXIM Bank.
3. GH¢500m credit programme for agribusinesses established
4. $400m set aside for farmers under Development of Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP)
5. Progress made in development of 12 coastal fish landing sites and 2 fishing ports.
HIGHLIGHT ON ENERGY SECTOR
1. Renegotiation, restructuring of Power Purchase Agreements with 6 IPPs completed
2. Total crude oil production for January to September 2022 was 39.15 million barrels
3. Total petroleum receipts for January to September 2022 was $1.16bn.
HIGHLIGHT ON FINANCE
Mr. Speaker, the fiscal operations for the period resulted in an overall budget deficit of GH¢44,022 million (7.4% of GDP), against a target of GH¢36,684 million (6.2% of GDP). The corresponding primary balance for the period was a deficit of GH¢11,921 million (2.0% of GDP), against a deficit target of GH¢5,794 (1.0% of GDP).
The fiscal deficit for the period was financed mainly from domestic sources amounting to GH¢37,491 million (6.3% of GDP), accounting for 85.2 percent of the total financing. Foreign financing for the period amounted to GH¢6,531 million (1.1% of GDP) and accounted for the remaining 14.8 percent of the financing.
Public Debt Developments for January – September 2022.
Mr. Speaker, provisional debt data as at end September 2022 shows a significant increase in Ghana’s public debt largely due to exogeneous factors.
The end-September 2022 provisional figures indicate that total gross public debt stood at GH¢467,371.31 million (US$48,871.34 million), representing approximately 75.9 percent of GDP.
The domestic debt component is GH¢195,657.60 million, which is 31.79 percent of GDP, whilst external debt is GH¢271,713.71 million, representing 44.15 percent of GDP. The increase in the domestic debt is largely on account of rising interest costs. Domestic debt as a share of total public debt reduced from 51.6 percent in 2021 to 41.9 percent as at end September 2022.
Mr. Speaker, the external debt as a percentage of the total debt stock is 58.1 percent as at end September 2022. The sharp growth in the external debt stock is largely driven by the depreciation of the local currency. The depreciation of the Ghana cedi added GH¢93,855.15 million to the external debt stock.
Overall, debt accumulation increased from 20.7 percent in 2021 to 32.7 percent as at end September 2022, reflecting the impact of the depreciation of the Ghana cedi on the external debt side.
More Updates on The Budget Loading ….
Source: Honestynewgh.com
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