GHANA Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) says the 20 per cent import duty tax on the importation of mobile phones has stifled the growth of the country’s of the telecommunication industry.
According to the GCT, “It would be in government and also the interest of the people of fairness for dealers to pay genuine tax and also whiles the interest of the entire mobile ecosystem and the entire economy that the 20 per cent import duty on mobile phone industry to our tax policy authorities should be consider this as they prepare the 2015 budget”.
Speaking at the launching of the Tecno Phantom Z, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) , Kwaku Addo Sakyi-Addo observed that, if government should remove 20 per cent import duty then smuggling would diminish.
“When smuggling diminishes, those operating in the shadows will be compelled to compete on a level playing field with the dealership and Agents”, he added.
According to CEO of GCT, with the 20 percent import duty, gone, more people can afford genuine smart phones because they are affordable, then they will use them.
“The talk tax, or communication service tax (CST) which you cannot dodge, the six per cent talk tax or communication service tax which cannot dodge. Taxes on mobile devices add up to about 45 percent of the cost. In particular, there is a 20 per cent import duty on mobile devices. It was introduced in 2013. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the president who whom telecommunication is especially dear to please consider tax”, the CEO of GCT stressed.
Mr Sakyi-Addo has said that, because currently, people are smuggling handsets in suitcases and bags into the country to avoid the taxes. Because they are not paying those taxes, the revenue generation and assumption made by tax authorities are being comprised. The smugglers are able to undercut the companies that operate above board, that pay taxes, which employ people, that pay social security and who obey the law.
Even though in the year 2013 government sort it wise to improve the tax net by increasing revenue collection in all sectors of the economy, which saw the law Customs and Excise Amendment Bill 2013 seeks to impose a 20 per cent levy on mobile, cellular and satellite phones imported into the country and is expected to enable government raise an amount of GH¢49.8 million to support its developmental activities for the year.
The amended Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 512) imposes import duty on telephone and mobile phones, reduces the environmental excise tax on plastic and plastic products from 15 per cent to five per cent.
The government’s immediate purpose for this tax is to raise additional revenue for the budget-to mitigates a widening deficit. In addition it explained that the tax will protect domestic manufacturers of mobile phones and protect jobs in the sector.
Ghana has over 25 million mobile phone subscribers, exceeding the 100% penetration rate. This figure however can be deceptive as it does not mean that all 24 million Ghanaian’s own mobile phones or subscribe to mobile phone services. There is however a phenomenon of people subscribing to more than one mobile operator service.
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