Film Producers and Musicians to get Tax incentives under my Presidency – Bawumia
New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has announced that under his presidency, film producers and musicians will be given tax incentives to help in order to shift the private sector’s focus to the sector.
In his address to the nation at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Vice President reiterated his firm resolve to change the dwindling fortunes of the entertainment sector and to help create more jobs.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I will also have a major focus on policies, tax and other incentives to increase private and public investment in tourism, creative arts and sports for more job creation. Tax incentives will also be provided for film producers and musicians”
He further said that policies already yielding dividends will be continued and enhanced. “We will build on the Year of Return, Beyond the Return, December in Ghana”
There will also be an introduction of digital streaming platforms to grow the sector.
“We will introduce other initiatives such as digital and streaming platforms for our artists to make tourism and the creative arts a growth pole in Ghana”
A Visa-on-arrival policy will be introduced for international tourists to enhance growth in the industry.
“To boost tourism and job creation, my government will implement a visa-on-arrival policy for all international visitors to Ghana as has recently been implemented by Kenya”
Moreover, the Presidency of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia would tackle the challenges facing the nations sporting sector.
“Sports is a multi-million dollar industry and an enabler for the youth. However, we have not realized our full sports potential, and we cannot maximize the full potential of Ghana sports, with the same funding module we have operated with since independence. My government will, therefore, prioritise the creation of incentives for corporate sponsorship as a sustainable module of financing sports development and promotion for our national teams, including football, athletics and boxing at all levels”
This, Dr. Bawumia believes, will take the financial pressure off government, and also enable government to redirect more support to other sports disciplines.
The Ghana School Sports Secretariat will be set up to develop sports in the country under Dr. Bawumia’s leadership.
“My government, as part of a broad sports development vision, will establish the Ghana School Sports Secretariat, which will be an agency under the ministry responsible for sports, in collaboration with other stakeholders such as the GES and sports federations. My government will also seek school-level collaboration with international sports bodies like the NBA and NFL to make Ghana a hub for these emerging sports in Africa, to create more opportunities for young people”
He added that Ghana has already tried this with the NFL, the governing body for American Football, which agreed to host in Ghana, in 2022, the first ever NFL Flag Football in Africa after my engagement with them. This paved the way for 10 young Ghanaians to be selected to the United States to represent Africa in a global NFL tournament last year.
“Another set of young Ghanaians, who were picked after the 2nd NFL Africa Football was also held in Ghana last year, are currently in the United States to represent Africa” he emphasized.