Kenneth Ashigbey, Telecommunications Chamber Chief Executive Officer, has allayed fears of Ghanaians that the recent increase in the Communications Service Tax by the government will affect Mobile Money transactions.
He explained that the tax was set up to generate revenue from electronic communications of end users, thus, does not affect non electronic communications, ABC News can report.
Ken Ofori-Atta, at the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament on Monday proposed an increase in the Communications Service Tax from 6% to 9%
This disclosure triggered a cloud of doubt among a section of Ghanaians following speculations that electronic financial transactions via communications gadgets were affected by the tax henceforth.
However, speaking in an interview on Accra-based Joy FM, Ken Ashigbey clarified that, “The way the pricing goes, I am not too sure. You know mobile money is not electronic communications so there is no CST on mobile money. What it (the tax increase) will affect is your SMS, voice calls and data”
Speaking directly on the proposed 9% Communications Service Tax, the CEO of Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, bemoaned the high taxes that has characterised the sector hinting that it will have adverse effect on investment to expand coverage by the telecoms companies.
To this end, he expressed his readiness to engage government over the tax increment to explore alternative revenue generation strategies.
“If you take the Communications sector, it pays over 40% of the turn over it gets to government in forms of taxes, levies etc so the sector already is heavily taxed but you will agree that it is also a very significant sector so you will want to find ways of generating revenue from it. I will rather have gone with the NPP philosophy of looking more at production than taxation” he noted.
Source: ABCNewsgh.com
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