"Ghana: MTN strongly disputes $773m tax by GRA"

" Ghana: MTN strongly disputes $773m tax by GRA\u00a0 \r\n\r\nMTN Group Ltd., Africa\u2019s largest wireless carrier, said it\u2019s received a $773 million back-tax bill, including penalties and interest charges, in Ghana that it plans to fight.\r\n\r\nThe bill is for the period between 2014 and 2018 and implies that MTN under-declared its revenue in the country by 30%, the company said in a statement on Friday. MTN said it received the notice this week.\r\n\r\n \u201cMTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to vigorously defend MTN Ghana\u2019s position on the assessment,\u201d the company said.\r\n\r\nAfrica\u2019s largest wireless carriers are increasingly caught up in tax disputes on the continent. MTN was victorious in a conflict in Nigeria in 2020 when the government had to drop a $2 billion claim for back taxes following a 16-month battle. More recently, Vodacom Group Ltd. has been embroiled in a controversial tax demand in the Congo that saw the government seal parts of its offices and freeze its bank accounts.\r\n\r\nRead More: Congo Seals Vodacom Offices, Freezes Accounts in Tax Dispute\r\n\r\nThe Ghana Revenue Authority used a third-party consultant as well as a new methodology, the company said. \u201cMTN Ghana strongly disputes the accuracy and basis of the assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit,\u201d the company said.\r\n\r\nFlorence Asante, a spokeswoman for the GRA, said she couldn\u2019t immediately comment when reached by phone.\r\n\r\nGhana, which lost access to the international capital markets due to its ballooning debt and loan service costs, suspended interest payments on its external debt last month. The nation is trying to restructure its obligations to finalize a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.\r\n\r\nMTN said in the statement that the GRA had begun an audit of its Ghanaian business in 2019 to look into the \u201creliability and completeness\u201d of the revenue it declared during the five-year period. The GRA hadn\u2019t issued the unit with any guidelines or standards relating to its new audit methodology, MTN said.\r\n\r\n \u201cMTN Group and MTN Ghana will continue to engage with the relevant authorities on this matter and MTN remains resolute that MTN Ghana is a tax compliant corporate citizen, \u201d the company said."

"Ghana: MTN strongly disputes $773m tax by GRA"

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