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Parliament has approved a request for tax and duties waiver of $23.98 million to Platinum Properties Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned and controlled by Inter-Afrique Holding Limited and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).

The approval will allow the entity enjoy tax rebate on import duties, import VAT, import National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), import GETFund levy, domestic VAT, domestic NHIL and domestic GETFund levy on materials, plant and machinery and equipment to be procured by the company.

The materials are to be used by the Platinum Properties Limited for the Pullman Accra City Hotel and Serviced Apartment, a dual hospitality project that will become Ghana’s largest and most distinguished hotel facility.

Motion

Graphic Online's Nana Konadu Agyeman who was in Parliament Tuesday [March 3, 2020] reported that the motion for request for the tax and duties waiver was moved by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, and seconded by the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah on February 18, 2020.

Expected benefits

Tabling the report of the Finance Committee on the tax and duties waiver for Platinum Properties in the House, the Chairman of the committee on February 18, 2020, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, said The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), in consultation with other relevant governmental agencies, had reviewed the Pullman Accra City Project and approved same as a strategic investment.

He said the completion of the $126 million multi-purpose facility would be Ghana’s first international branded and managed serviced apartment units which would make the Airport City development enclave Accra’s most preferred hotel destination.

“This will augment the aviation industry and help attract more high profile business meetings and social visitors into the Ghanaian capital,” he said.

Job creation

He explained that the committee observed that the implementation of the phase one of the project was expected to generate substantial amount of taxes for the government over the initial period of operation.

“It is estimated that annual revenues for Pullman Accra Airport City will be in excess of $550 million over the first 10 years of operation. The government will make an estimated VAT of $90 million and $26 million in corporate taxes over this period.

“Again, there will be direct employment of about 250 direct hotel staff by Pullman, implying that the GRA will increase government revenue through employee PAYE and social security contributions estimated to aggregate about $10 million,” he said.