Parliament approves ¢174m as tax waiver for frontline health workers
Jonas Danquah 
Ghana’s Parliament has approved an amount of ¢174 million as tax waiver on income taxes for front line health workers in the country.
The waiver will cover personal emoluments for the months of July, August and September respectively.
Parliament’s approval is in compliance with President Akufo-Addo’s promise to give health workers additional allowances of 50% as tax-free on their basic salary per month.
The tax incentive was earmarked to compensate healthcare workers, especially frontline health staff for leading the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Finance Committee report, the number of health workers who fell into the frontline category for the months of April, May and June 2020 was 6,091, 7,418, and 7,196 respectively with corresponding expenditure on the additional allowances being ¢6.5 million, ¢7.5 million, and ¢7.6 million for the month of April, May and June 2020 respectively.
Presenting the Finance Committee report, the Chairman, Dr Assibey Yeboah said personal emoluments are estimated at ¢168 million and additional allowances at ¢5 million cedis.
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The definition of who qualifies as a frontline worker has been a big bone of contention.
The president had earlier said on June 28, that, the issues surrounding who qualifies as a “frontline worker” have been resolved by stakeholders, assuring that, all workers who fell under the category will receive their “special incentive.”
However, speaking to Adom News following today’s tax waiver approval, Kumbungu MP Ras Mubarak raised concerns about inclusion of BNI officials as frontline workers.
According to him the move is unjustifiable given agitations from some health workers over their exclusion.
He also added that should the BNI be added to the list of frontline workers, other agencies like the Auditor General’s department should as well be added for their work during the pandemic.
