Bussiness
Volta Investment Fair: Police assures of maximum protection and safety
The Volta Regional Police Command has assured the business community and the public of maximum protection and safety during the Volta Trade and Investment Fair.
The Command has put in place comprehensive security arrangements to deal with security issues before, during and after the Fair, hence exhibitors, patrons and visitors should feel safe to go about their duties.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, Director of Public Affairs, Volta Regional Police Command, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the Command has manpower to undertake the exercise.
She said the Command was poised to ensure that the Fair was carried out in an atmosphere of peace, hence, would be on the ground and did anything humanly possible to ensure that the public was safe and there was maintenance of law and order.
Mrs Tenge said effective arrangements were made for adequate security for dignitaries during the opening ceremony, and that the Command would not lose its guard on any criminal to take advantage of the situation to perpetrate crimes.
The Director of Public Affairs said personnel who would be providing security for the event were adequately briefed on how to execute their duties with maximum level of professionalism.
Mrs Tenge said some personnel would be stationed within the Stadium while a patrol team moved around to provide security and maintain law and order during the period of the event.
She said police detectives would be on the ground to support in gathering intelligence to enable them to deliver effectively on their mandate to provide the necessary security for the entire event.
The Director of Public Affairs said the Command would not hesitate to mount snap check points when the need be to thwart any criminal activity during the period of the Fair.
She advised that anybody with any peculiar security issues during the period should inform the Command for quick and timely action to address the situation.
Mrs Tenge warned criminals who would want to take advantage of the Fair to engage in their nefarious activities to desist, saying the Command would deal ruthlessly with such persons.
The Fair is scheduled to take place between November 15 and 28, this year and promises to be a great opportunity to showcase business potentials in the Region to the rest of the World. -GNA
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
