Lali X Lola wrote an open letter to the President
Ghanaian music duo Lali X Lola have written an open letter to President John Dramani Mahama, calling on his administration to take urgent steps to recover what they describe as hundreds of millions of dollars in digital revenue lost to withholding taxes on Ghanaian creators' earnings from global platforms.
In the letter sighted by GhanaWeb, the duo, made up of sisters Patricia Delali Dake and Trysha Wolali Dake, argued that Ghanaian creators generating income through major streaming and content monetisation platforms are losing as much as 30% of their earnings to withholding taxes imposed by jurisdictions such as the United States, with little to no relief frameworks in place to protect them.
The duo estimated that over $100 million may have been withheld over the past decade due to these taxes, value they say was earned by Ghanaians but never fully returned to Ghana.
"Many of the world’s leading digital platforms; including major streaming and content monetization services are headquartered in jurisdictions such as the United States. Under applicable tax laws, payments made to non-resident creators are often subject to withholding tax, which is as high as 30% in the absence of
applicable tax treaties or relief mechanisms.
"As a result, income earned by Ghanaian creators through these global platforms is frequently taxed at source abroad before it reaches Ghana, and without the benefit of strong bilateral tax frameworks, a significant portion of that value remains outside our economy," they wrote.
Lali X Lola noted that other African countries had already moved to address the problem, pointing out that South Africa, Morocco and Egypt had established tax treaty frameworks with key global markets to secure more favourable treatment of cross-border digital earnings.
They urged Ghana to pursue a similar path.
"Your Excellency, this is not only a creative sector concern; it is a national economic opportunity," they added.
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The letter outlined three specific calls to action; initiating targeted tax treaty negotiations, enabling the repatriation of withheld earnings, and channelling recovered revenue into Ghana's National Creative Fund to support innovation and job creation in the sector.
"This is not a call for subsidies. It is a call for structural fairness," they wrote.
They added that Ghana was "exporting culture at an unprecedented scale" and deserved to fully capture the economic value of that export.
The duo disclosed that they had previously written formally to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, the Clerk of Parliament, and the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, but were compelled to escalate the matter directly to the President given the urgency of the issue.
"We respectfully call on your leadership to bring attention to this matter and to guide the necessary interministerial coordination required to initiate this process. Ghana has the opportunity to lead on the continent in shaping a fair and forward-looking framework for digital earnings in the global economy.
"Let us ensure that Ghana does not only create globally but also earns fully and reinvests strategically at home," they concluded.
ID/AM
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