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Government is working to reduce corporate income tax by five per cent next year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has announced.

This means businesses would pay 20 per cent of their profits as corporate income tax as against the current 25 per cent.

This new measure, which the minister said would be captured by the 2018 budget statement to be presented to Parliament in November this year, is to create a business friendly environment for the private sector.

Government has since this year reviewed about 15 taxes in a bid to relieve the plight of taxpayers and increase the tax net. Mr. Ofori-Atta indicated that diversifying tax revenue streams should prevent the over concentration on corporate income taxe. “Our mission will be to reduce the import of taxes on the productive sector of the economy.

We have begun processes to reduce the corporate tax come 2018, when we present the budget,” he said. He added that government is still devising more ways to widening the tax net. “We are clear on the philosophy of taxes and we are also determined to expanding the tax net.

Our property tax system is not in existence and we want to reintroduce that”, he added.