Gov’t imposes 17.5% tax on all petroleum products

The government of Ghana, via the 2015 Budget Statement, is asking parliament to approve a bill enforcing a special petroleum tax of 17.5% on petroleum products.

 This was revealed by the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, on Wednesday – 19th November, 2014 – when presenting the 2015 Budget and Economic Statement before parliament.

“In addition, Mr. Speaker, we propose the following tax measures for implementation in 2015 ; Imposition of Special Petroleum Tax of 17.5 percent as part of rationalisation of VAT regime and change in the petroleum pricing structure”, the Minister of Finance stated.

Presenting the bill under a certificate of urgency for the consideration of parliament’s Select Committee on Finance, Mr Terkper asserted that “this policy comes with a mitigation account to manage extremely low and high prices that result in sporadic price increases or decreases under the automatic adjustment formula.”

The bill is projected to be considered by close of day.