The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has described the introduction of an 8% dumsor levy as an act of “wickedness” and a “stab in the back” of Ghanaians.
The Ofoase Ayirebi MP says the move contradicts earlier assurances by the NDC government that it would not rely on tariffs to cover inefficiencies in the energy sector.
Speaking at the Minority caucus’ press conference in Parliament on Monday, June 9, the former Information Minister said the 8% levy was the highest tax rate ever introduced in a single instance in Ghana.
“Even if this levy wasn’t hypocritical, as mentioned by my brother, and had an honest justification, why would the government impose a levy with an 8% transaction rate on the people of Ghana?
“It’s just simple wickedness. And to think that this 8% is on every gallon of fuel—actually cascading down to every litre—to pay for inefficiencies in the energy sector is simply a stab in the back of many Ghanaians who believed the government when it said it wouldn’t impose levies to address those challenges,” he stated.
He added, “Ghanaians will bear witness that this levy is being charged at a rate of 8% per transaction. This makes it one of the highest tax rates introduced in a single instance in Ghana’s history.
“If you study the history of VAT and many other revenue handles, you’ll notice that at their point of introduction, they usually start at 1%, 1.5% or 2%. Over time, they may increase slightly or be consolidated. But this particular levy starts off at 8%—and that’s alarming.”
The bill, passed under a certificate of urgency on Tuesday, June 3, introduces a GHS1 levy on every litre of fuel purchased.
Its implementation, initially scheduled for today, Monday, June 9, has been postponed to June 16, as government plans to engage stakeholders protesting against it.
