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Ghana's Communications Minister pushes for taxes on profits made on mobile money transactions, here's why

Ghana’s Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has suggested to the revenue authority to tax Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) for the profit they make on mobile money transactions.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

According to her, the operators generate some GH¢71 million monthly on the transactions, yet that money remains untaxed.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said this at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, November 14, 2019.

She said, “This is of particular interest to me but this is where the Finance Minister and I diverge because I think that 71 million [cedis] which is generated by the operators in transaction fees, they ought to pay taxes on that revenue to the State.”

Adding that “We are still having conversations about that.”

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Data from the Bank of Ghana last year showed that mobile money transactions increased from GH¢155 billion to GH¢233 billion representing 43% growth in just a year.

It also showed that the volume of transactions on the mobile money platform increased from 2017 to 2018 reached GH¢1.4 billion.

The value of transactions had also seen a significant increase from 2012 to 2018. For instance, in 2012 total transactions, reached GH¢594 million and increased significantly every year to hit GH¢233 billion in 2018.

In June, the World Bank declared Ghana the fastest-growing mobile money market in Africa with registered accounts increasing six-fold.

This translates into huge profits for telecom companies and the Communications Minister, hence, wants to ensure that the State does not miss out on revenue from the sector.

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"Nobody is talking about actual mobile money transactions that are conducted by individuals. However, I am interested in the revenues that the mobile network operators earn from the transaction fees that own-users of the services pay to them,” the Minister said.

“And I think the GRA [Ghana Revenue Authority] ought to have a conversation with them about that,” she added

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