The government has been issued a seven-day ultimatum by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) on power use over the minimum amount needed to survive.
To generate funds for the COVID-19 recovery program, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta instructed the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to impose the Value Added Tax (VAT) in a letter dated January 1.
The TUC, lead by Secretary General Dr. Yaw Baah, angrily disagreed with the decision, arguing that it would negatively affect the lives of common Ghanaians, especially the elderly and those with low incomes.
“It’s always the poor people in this country, including pensioners, who bear the brunt,” Dr. Baah stated during a news conference on Tuesday. And we ought to stop enabling that to go on. We, the Organized Labor, have united and are sending a clear message to the government: we are unable to pay the VAT on power.
“We will not pay it today or tomorrow. Organised Labour is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the letter, and another directive from the Finance Minister to Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), ECG to stop the implementation of the VAT on electricity. We are giving the government, up to January 31, 2024, to withdraw the letter,” stated Dr. Yaw Baah.
He said that in the event that the finance minister does not order GRIDCo and ECG to remove the letter, they will counsel themselves.“If by that time the minister of finance fails to give directive to GRIDCO and ECG we will advise ourselves,” he said.
