[ 2021-03-16 ]

Don’t approve new fuel levies – COPEC to MPs
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has
asked that Members of Parliament throw out the new
levies on petroleum products.

According to the Executive Secretary of COPEC,
Duncan Amoah, there are loopholes in the revenue
generation of the state that the Finance Ministry
needs to find solutions to rather than bringing in
new levies.

“I think that if the Finance Ministry channels
its energies to sealing the revenue loopholes, we
will be able to get far. So we have asked the
people’s representatives in Parliament not to
let us down this time around. Out of good
conscience, they should throw this proposition
away because there is clearly a lot of revenue
that the state allows to go unaccounted for, and
then we come back to squeeze the same people who
are already crying for paying too much for
fuel.”

Making such call on Eyewitness News, Mr. Amoah
further stated that “about GHS1.9 billion
revenue that was due the state, found its way into
private pockets. The total amount of the taxes
that we are simply seeking to slap further on
petroleum would yield an annual GHS1.2 billion.
Government has already allowed GHS1.9 billion to
go into the pockets of the high and mighty,
revenue that the government should be able to
recoup has been wasted, and then you come to the
trotro driver to say, pay more taxes and let us
recoup GHS1.2 billion.”

“The accumulated increases we have paid since
January to date is already 17%, from GHS4.67
pesewas to the current GHS5.45 pesewas. If you add
another 5-8%, you are doing 23% within a quarter.
That is clearly unsustainable and we think
somebody must be up to managing fuel prices for
Ghanaians by ensuring the refinery is working,
ensuring that BOST is playing the role for which
we used the taxpayer’s money to build it.”

The government through the 2021 budget is
proposing a new tax on petroleum products among
others.

This new tax, the Sanitation and Pollution Levy is
to fund efforts to fund investment in the areas of
sanitation and pollution.

The levy is for 10 pesewas on the price per litre
of petrol/diesel under the Energy Sector Levies
Act (ESLA).

There’s also a 30 pesewas increase in fuel
prices to take care of excess power capacity
charges.

If the proposal is accepted, Ghanaians will see
further increases in petroleum prices at the pump.

Source - Citinewsroom

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