Joseph Osei Oppong Brenya, Director of Corporate Affairs at the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), has dismissed the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) manifesto promise to introduce tax exemptions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as unnecessary and redundant.

According to Oppong Brenya, the current government has already implemented tax exemptions for SMEs through NEIP, making the NDC’s pledge nothing new. He explained that SMEs can apply for these exemptions directly through NEIP, which collaborates with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to grant the relief.

Oppong Brenya accused the NDC of being aware of this existing policy but choosing to include it in their manifesto to mislead the public. He highlighted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s track record in supporting SMEs, citing NEIP’s training of 19,000 entrepreneurs and funding of over 4,350.

He also addressed former President John Mahama’s promise of a two-year tax exemption for young entrepreneurs, calling it “nothing new.” Oppong Brenya pointed out that the current government already offers a five-year tax exemption for young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 40, which has been in place since NEIP’s establishment in 2017.

The NEIP Director questioned the significance of the NDC’s promise, suggesting that the only difference might be a reduction of the exemption period from five years to two years. He reiterated that the existing tax exemptions for young entrepreneurs under the current government render the NDC’s proposal unnecessary and redundant.