Govt must focus on getting taxes from Youtube, others after E-Levy passage – Okraku Mantey

E-Levy assented into law

E-Levy to be implemented in May

GRA to start taxing Netflix, Youtube others

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Mark Okraku Mantey has stated that government after successfully introducing the E-Levy should pay attention to taxing online businesses and platforms.

In an interview on GTV, the minister said Ghana should also target some of these online platforms such as Youtube, Netflix, Bolt, Uber in order to broaden the tax net.

Okraku Mantey stated that the E-Levy ensures that skilled workers in the informal sector such as Masons, Carpenters, and others who do not pay direct taxes on their income will have the opportunity to pay taxes through the E-Levy.

He also stated this will allow Ghanaian YouTubers, vloggers, and bloggers to pay taxes on the income they earn through online transactions.

“So, I ask myself how do we fix these things that make you complain about what you do not contribute. Again, the small business enterprise comes up in a few years and they collapse because they are overloaded with some taxes so why don’t we expand the scope to help reduce the corporate Ghana of taxes so we can distribute it such that you don’t overload the few who have agreed to pay for it”.

“My creative people are selling on YouTube, iTunes, bolt foods, uber, people are now buying clothes online, are they paying anything to the government? No, I think after the MoMo I think we need to go heavily online and then cyber to see what we can get from there” he added.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assented to the E-Levy bill stating that this will help widen Ghana’s tax net and boost infrastructural development in the country.

He said, “government agenda to introduce the electronic levy bill, is now electronic transfer levy Act 2022 “Act 1075″ is a strategic decision to boost our revenue mobilization drive in order to grow our economy by ourselves to improve social, economic and infrastructural development in the republic of Ghana. The controversies which emanated from the inception of the electronic levy bill was a healthy one for our democracy as a nation”.

“The government is committed to ensuring the Judicious administration and implementation and at the same time reporting of all revenues collected under the newly introduced electronic levy Act to impose a confidence in the government”.