Telecoms Chamber warns government over taxing mobile money
Government has been urged to discard plans of introducing taxes on mobile money (MoMo) transactions by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications.
The request by the Chamber follows ongoing concerns among mobile money agents and other stakeholders of a likely introduction of taxes on mobile money.
Speaking at the 18th Knowledge Forum organized by the Chamber, Head of Research and Communications at the Chamber, Derek Laryea, averred any move by government to any aspect of mobile money transactions will be counterproductive.
“Rather than going direct in terms of taxation, how about allowing the market dynamics to play out. This, if allowed to happen, will lead to improved efficiency, profitability and productivity. For us, as a chamber, we don’t think this is the time to discuss the matter of direct taxation of mobile money,” noted Mr Laryea.
Also speaking at the Forum was the CEO of the Chamber, Kenneth Ashigbey, who intimated that mobile money transactions are already being taxed hence there is no need for additional taxes.
“There are various ways by which mobile money is taxed. There is the Corporate Income Tax that is paid. The agents and merchants also pay withholding taxes on the commissions that they earn. By virtue of the fact that you have mobile money running, you have businesses who leverage the platform and also pay taxes. We definitely think that taxing mobile money directly is like taxing the cash in your pocket,” he said.
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Data from the Bank of Ghana over the years shows how mobile money has transformed and continues to transform lives in the country, especially in an era of COVID-19.
Between June 2020 and June 2021, active mobile money accounts have risen from 15.5 million to 18.3 million, while the total value of transactions has risen from 45.3 billion to 89 billion within the same period.
On the back of the impressive numbers, the Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful had hinted at the possibility of taxing aspects of mobile money to help shore up governments’ revenue.
Also, a few months back, mobile money agents across the country were kicking against a 10% tax they say was being imposed on their earnings by the government.
