2022 budget: 15% increment on fees and charges ‘deadlier’ than E-levy – Kwakye Ofosu

A 15% review on fees and charges is the worse tax in the 2022 budget

This is an indirect tax that affects every Ghanaian according to Kwakye Ofosu

He describes the tax as one of three killer taxes in the budget currently being debated

The 2022 ‘Killer Budget’ coughed up three killer taxes that are

Read full articledirected at imposing more hardship on already suffering and burdened Ghanaians.

This is the view of Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who picked out the three taxes as, the Electronic transactions levy (E-levy), the reversal of benchmark revenue and the 15% increment on government fees and charges.

According to the former Deputy Communications Minister, it is the latter tax component that has a more devastating effect compared to the widely criticized E-levy.

Explaining his stance on the November 23 edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme, Kwakye Ofosu said: “There is a yet a more devastating tax, that is, the 15% increment in all government fees and charges. Many people have not averted their minds to it because it appears intangible to them.

“LI 2386, Fees and Charges Miscellaneous Provision 2019, has 749 pages and lists all fees and charges government institutions take, it lists all 129 MDAs with 20,000 separate fees charges from school fees, academic user facility, Lands Commission, GRA (and) at all institutions government offers some service.”

He explained further: “Even with the 15% increase, every year it is going to be reviewed upwards with the rate of inflation, so there is every indication that this will go up and then 5 years later it will be reviewed upwards so this perhaps is even more devastating than the e-levy.

“They want to squeeze water out of stone… so that the Finance Minister can raise an additional 25 billion cedis over last years’ revenue. He hopes to get 15 billion from these draconian taxes and 10 billion from existing fiscal arrangements,” he added.



What Ofori-Atta said about review on government fees and charges

Review Fees and Charges with an average increase of at least 15 percent in 2022 and thereafter subject it to automatic annual adjustments by average inflation rate as published by the Ghana Statistical Service, but with the prior consent of the Minister for Finance.

The fees and charges should, however, be subjected to general review every 5 years. The effective date of implementation is 1st January 2022.