"CUTS International West Africa Director Urges Windfall Tax on Supra-Normal Profits of MTN, Other Companies"

" CUTS International West Africa Director Urges Windfall Tax on Supra-Normal Profits of MTN, Other Companies \r\n\r\nThe West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Adomako, has advocated for the implementation of windfall taxes on the supra-normal profits of companies like MTN Ghana.\r\n\r\nGiven MTN Ghana\u2019s designation as a Significant Market Player (SMP) by the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr. Adomako argues that the telecom giant can charge higher prices for its products and services compared to its competitors, Telecel and AirtelTigo, potentially leading to higher profits.\r\n\r\nThis call by Mr Adomako is likely to be due to Nigeria\u2019s recent decision to impose a 70% windfall tax on the foreign-exchange gains of banks, aimed at improving the country\u2019s fiscal position amidst the naira's depreciation.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, Mr. Adomako sees an opportunity for Ghana to strengthen its fiscal position by taxing the excess profits of dominant market players like MTN Ghana.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMTN Ghana reported a substantial revenue increase for the first half of 2024, reaching GHS 8.1 billion, marking a 31.1% rise from the GHS 6.1 billion recorded by June 2023.\r\n\r\nThis resulted in the company posting a profit before tax of GHS 3.3 billion, up 36.6% from GHS 2.4 billion in June 2023.\r\n\r\nThe telecommunications giant attributed this growth to a surge in data usage, mobile money services, and digital revenue.\r\n\r\nMTN Ghana\u2019s Q2 2024 financial statement highlighted a 55.0% year-on-year increase in data revenue, amounting to GHS 4.0 billion.\r\n\r\nThis growth was propelled by a 15.9% rise in active data subscribers and a 7.2% increase in megabytes consumed per active user per month.\r\n\r\nConsequently, data traffic saw a 24.2% year-on-year surge. Data revenue\u2019s contribution to total service revenue escalated from 41.5% to 49.0%.\r\n\r\nMobile money services significantly bolstered MTN\u2019s revenue, with a 44.8% year-on-year increase to GHS 1.9 billion.\r\n\r\nDigital revenue experienced a robust 59.4% year-on-year growth, reaching GHS 101.4 million. This growth was primarily driven by video, gaming, and ring-back tones.\r\n\r\n "

"CUTS International West Africa Director Urges Windfall Tax on Supra-Normal Profits of MTN, Other Companies"

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