Bussiness
DDE: IBF urges members not to sign up to govt’s programme as deadline ends today
Senyo Hosi, Convener, IBF
The Individual Bondholders Forum (IBF) has urged its members not to sign up to the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange programme if they intend to maintain their original bonds as the deadline expires today, January 31, 2023.
According to IBF, its members could exempt themselves without any punitive actions by government.
The group says this is due to the government’s assurance to honour its obligations to individuals who opt to retain their original bonds during their meeting on Friday, January 27.
“We welcome the Minister’s affirmation of the rights of individual bondholders to have the benefits of their current investment fully honoured without discrimination or punitive actions against non-DDE individual investors.
“This, in effect, presents individuals with a self-exemption option which bears no negative implications as far as government’s payment obligations are concerned,” a statement signed by the Convener of Forum, Senyo Hosi said on Monday, January 30.
He urged his members not to sign up for the debt exchange if they’ve decided to maintain their original bonds.
The statement however, said, “If you feel compelled to support the DDE programme for other reasons, please, do not hesitate to sign on to the DDE.”
The statement emphasized that members should not fear being punished for rejecting the debt exchange programme.
“The law is in your favour and the Minister of Finance has been categorical in affirming your right by stating that he will honour obligations under the old bonds and will not undertake any action to punish individuals who reject the DDE.”
“To support the turnaround of the economy, we encourage all not to lose confidence in Ghana’s financial system. The continuous investments and savings of everyone is required to spur the growth of our economy.
“We urge every citizen to file their taxes and honestly pay up all obligations due. We all owe it to Mother Ghana to make things work.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
Bussiness
Ghana’s GDP shows economy is fast recovering despite DDEP – Finance Ministry
Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicates a rapid economic recovery despite global challenges and ongoing debt restructuring, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The Ministry in a statement today indicated that latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), cumulative economic growth for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 reached 6.9%, a notable increase from the 4.7% recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
The MoF statement further noted that, “The economy’s robust recovery is in response to the macroeconomic stability and growth interventions that government is pursuing under our IMF-supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).”
According to them, the overall real GDP growth for the first half of 2024 rebounded strongly, with year-on-year GDP growth averaging 5.8% for the period, significantly higher than the 2.9% recorded in the same period in 2023.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Read full statement below
Bussiness
Facebook, Youtube, online trading companies must be taxed – Deputy Finance Minister
The Deputy Finance Minister Dr Alex Ampaabeng, has proposed that online trading companies should be taxed to bolster the economy.
He noted that these companies, both local and international, generate significant revenue from their Ghanaian clients, which underscores the necessity for taxation.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Dr Ampaabeng pointed out various potential revenue sources for Ghana, including online businesses and content creation companies.
He questioned why other national companies operating in Ghana are taxed, but social media platforms like Youtube and Facebook, which run numerous advertisements, are not included in the Ghanaian tax system.
According to him, these social media companies earn profits from the advertisements they display, and online trading companies also generate income from the sale of their products and services.
He mentioned online trading companies such as Jiji, Jumia, and Tonaton, which he believes surpass all physical marketplaces in Ghana in size.
According to him, “I can’t think of a country which has not gotten a digital service tax system of some sort, so Ghana is long overdue. Just to make an example so that people will appreciate where I’m coming from. Go to Youtube and play a video, within one or two minutes, you are going to watch about two, or three adverts.”
“What it tells you is that Facebook or Youtube is making profits right here in Ghana. Go to your Facebook account, and you are going to see a number of adverts on your right, left. What it is telling you is that Facebook is making profits right here in Ghana and not being taxed. Meanwhile, there are companies operating in Ghana, for jurisdiction reasons, of course, that are being taxed,” he said.
The Deputy Minister added that “So then, it comes to the question of the application of our tax laws. Revenues generated in Ghana are subject to taxes. We have Facebook, TikTok and all those players, these are digital platform owners.”
He stressed, “Then we have the digital or market players, here we are talking about individuals who are using the digital platforms. We have Jiji, Jumia, Tonaton, these combined, are bigger than all physical marketplaces in Ghana. And it tells you the volume of transactions, that are going on there.”
He expressed his hope that individuals earning online profits from Ghanaian residents would be taxed.
“There are conversations ongoing, I wouldn’t want to pre-empt anything, maybe in the future, it might not be anytime soon, what I would like to see, is a Ghana where people who are earning all forms of profits in the country are subject to taxes. People who are trading online to Ghanaian residents, people who are generating revenue from Ghana are allowed to pay taxes,” he noted.
Additionally, he proposed a collaboration with the government to curb cybercrime by registering and verifying these online trading companies.
“We can have a system where the government engages these operators, so individuals will submit their Ghana Card and are registered and verified,”he concluded.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
