Parliament passes Talk Tax Bill

Parliament on Tuesday passed the bill seeking an amendment to the Communications Service Tax Act, 2008 (Act 754).

The bill sought to exact additional levies on international calls and data transmission, as well as address revenue loss as a result of loopholes in that regulation.

Tabling the bill on the floor of Parliament generated mixed reaction among the public including the legislators, who called for temporary withdrawal of the bill.

Already, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has stated that charges are likely to be transferred to customers of the telecommunication networks.

“If they pass them on, it means subscribers would have to pay a lot more for telecom services,” Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, Executive Director of the Chamber, once said on TV3’s News 360.

However, proponents especially government officials claim GH¢45 million is lost every month due to irregular and fraudulent activities in that sector.

"This is something these same companies have been paying for in 2008 to 2011," said Ato Forson, the Deputy Minister of Finance.

"They stopped paying because they realised loopholes in the law," he added.

The Act will charge some six cents on every minute of calls originating from outside Ghana.