The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana is demanding a complete halt in the implementation of the 17.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) charge on financial services from next month.
According to the association the extra tax will cripple businesses and lead to massive job cuts.
Some of the 32 fee-based services to be affected include current accounts (foreign/local) for corporate bodies only, bank draft (payment order), and stopped cheques, returned cheques, commission on turnover for corporate bodies, overdraft processing or renewal fee among others.
Speaking to Citi Business News the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Sampson Asaki lamented the negative effect on the tax on business.
“we are kicking against the decision of government to implement this policy… our point is that it is going to affect our members because they transfer huge sums of money to the international market to go and buy goods to come and sell in this country”.
Meanwhile the Chief Executive Officer of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), Nana Osei Bonsu has described as unacceptable the new list of services that would attract the VAT charge.
“This is going to increase the cost of doing business, this is unacceptable …, how do you expect people and businesses to maintain bank accounts to facilitate their business… so what they are trying to do will erode the confidence of people in using the banking system”. He said
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana