In view of the revenue, theGRA is anticipating to make from the online services taxtargeting businesses like Amazon, Netflix, etc., Mr. Maximus Ametorgoh, a technology consultant and digital lead ofPopOuthas hinted that Ghanaian consumers may be paying extra charges to products on these international sites like Gooogle Amazon, Netflix, and others.
The full implementation of this tax came about as a result of the complaints from the finance minister, Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta, that less than 10 percent of Ghana’s population of about 30.8 million pay direct taxes.
A situation he referred to as “a poor reflection” on the country when compared to other middle-income counties.
In an interview withCiti Business News, Maximus Ametorgoh noted that while the new portal is a step in the right direction, the laws of Ghana’ should be worked on to ensure that more of the online activities are taxed.
Although it is expected that the majority of the online services tax burden will fall on the consumer Mr. Ametorgoh encouraged to use the online platforms more to help the government achieve its vision and to support GRA’s efforts.
The laws ought to be enforced more effectively and made to work drastically so that everyone is made to comply. Mr. Ametorgoh is off the view that with theamount of money being spent on the e-commerce space in Ghana, it is only fair and just that government gets a share in it to facilitate development.
“Definitely the consumers will have to pay a bit more in terms of the cost of the product they buy online. We should expect that when we buy something on Amazon, or Google and the likes there will be some taxes that will be applied and the cost of the product may go up. We should however pay for the increases because as citizens we should also pay our taxes. With the amount of money being spent on the e-commerce space in Ghana government should certainly have its share of that cake,” he stated.
