The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta presenting the mid-year budget announced a number of tax measures to make up for the poor revenue performance.
According to the Minister, the Communication Service Tax popularly known as Talk Tax has been increased from six to nine percent. There were also increases in the rates of the road fund, energy debt recovery, and the price stabilization and recovery levies — all components of the ESLA.
An analysis done by the Citi Business News on the government’s projected revenue for the second half of 2019 indicates that these increments are expected to generate additional revenue of GH¢349.1 million.
Put in perspective, the luxury vehicle tax – now withdrawn, was initially projected to rake in GH¢598.1 million in the 2019 fiscal year.
The additional revenue from the new tax hikes is expected to aid the government to provide some cushion for the government.
Despite the more than GH¢4.2 million shortfall in the government’s domestic revenue, the GH¢58.9 billion set in the 2019 budget remains unchanged.