Photo by: Duane Daws
ACCRA – Ghana has put on hold plans to introduce a windfall tax on mining profits, Finance Minister Seth Terkper told Reuters, comments that will delight struggling gold firms but could undermine efforts to reduce the country's budget deficit.
"It's on hold in Parliament and we are consulting," Terkper told Reuters late on Thursday. He had told Parliament during the annual budget in November that government would impose the tax. No timeframe was given at the time.
Ghana is Africa's second biggest gold producer and the decision comes after pressure from mining companies who said any additional tax would lead to job losses in an industry hard-hit by a steep fall in global gold prices in 2013.