Activist group AriseGhana has backed calls for the withdrawal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumption above the lifeline.
In a letter dated January 1, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) to implement the VAT, aiming to raise revenue for the COVID-19 recovery program.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, AriseGhana said the “government’s imposition of VAT on the domestic consumption of electricity, at a time Ghanaians are faced with unprecedented economic hardships, is cruel and unacceptable.”
The group said considering the country’s present economic woes, the least the government could do was to fashion out policies to mitigate and ameliorate the plight of the masses and not to pile more taxes on them.
“It is a sad irony that President Akufo-Addo, who was the leader of the bloody Kume Preko Demonstration that vehemently opposed the introduction of VAT, has now turned around to increase and expand the incidence rate of VAT just to finance the creature comfort of his corrupt and wasteful government,” it added.
AriseGhana again demanded that the government take immediate steps to withdraw the imposition, else they would be compelled to engage in a series of public manifestations in collaboration with other progressives to compel the government to do the needful.
Meanwhile, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday, January 23, gave the government a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumption above the lifeline.
Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah, vehemently opposed the move, citing its detrimental impact on the livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians, particularly pensioners and low-income earners.
Speaking at a pres conference, he said “It’s always the poor people in this country, including pensioners, who bear the brunt. And we should not allow that to continue. Organised Labour, we have come together and our message to the government is very simple, we cannot pay VAT on electricity.”
“We will not pay it today or tomorrow. Organised Labour is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the letter, and another directive from the Finance Minister to Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), ECG to stop the implementation of the VAT on electricity. We are giving the government, up to January 31, 2024, to withdraw the letter.”
He stated that they will advise themselves if the finance minister fails to direct GRIDCo and ECG to withdraw the letter.
“If by that time the minister of finance fails to give directive to GRIDCO and ECG we will advise ourselves,” he said.
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