Deputy Minister of Communications George Andah has said that government is strongly considering slapping a tax on the fees and commissions mobile money companies earn from individual transactions.
Mr. Andah speaking at the Ghana Digital Roadmap event last week said it should be possible for the government to explore revenue opportunities in the mobile money ecosystem suggesting that the mobile money companies should brace up for possible taxation.
While taxing mobile money has been a thorny issue, Mr. Andah’s comments suggest that government is purposely targeting the income the mobile money companies earn from doing individual transactions.
“I think the focus is to understand the value of money that the mobile money operators are making. So, the transactions, cash in-cash out, those monies that the operators are making, government should be able to tax that money.
“As to whether the actual transactions being made by subscribers should be taxed, we have not started that discussion. But as far as the money they are making from subscribers for transactions they are doing and they are not reporting that as taxable income, we should be able to understand and tax them,†the Deputy Minister said.
The Deputy Minister’s suggestion comes on the back of weak domestic revenue performance, pushing government to look at other sources to boost revenue.
The use of mobile money continues to grow every day with last year data mobile money grew by 43.2 percent from the previous year, with transaction value hitting over GH¢233billion.
It has even overtaken cheques as the largest payment system in the country, as the value of cheque transactions last year was GH¢203 billion – a sure sign of the looming threats the OBG report has highlighted.
Credit : Citinewsroom
READ ALSO :Â
- Mobile Money : MTN records GHS710m revenue in 2018Â
-  Police, telcos seek review of prosecution process for Mobile money fraud
For more Business News in Ghana visit primenewsghana.com