The Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo has joined calls for the immediate reduction of taxes on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
He fears the 18-pesewa upward tax adjustment on the price of the product will have an indirect effect on the environment.
Dr. Pelpuo expects people to resort to firewood because of the upward review of the price of LPG.
“You cannot be encouraging people to stop burning firewood and at the same time put taxes on LPG which allows us to move away from cutting and burning trees,” he told Citi News.
“You are pursuing a policy of encouraging people to plant trees and not kill and destroy trees whilst also pursuing a policy of putting taxes on the LPG.”
Meanwhile, a scheduled meeting between the Ministry of Energy and the LPG marketers is expected to take place today in a bid to address the issue of the 18-pesewa increment in prices of LPG.
The increases come at a time Ghanaians are expected to pay more taxes on fuel products in general following the introduction of the Sanitation and Pollution Levy, on the price per litre of petrol/diesel.
The other taxes introduced through the 2021 budget is the COVID-19 Health Levy and a one percent increment on the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) as part of revenue measures to help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana is also opposed to the upward tax adjustment.
The group has since served notice it will petition stakeholders in the petroleum industry to get the tax removed.
