Government has introduced a GH¢1 Energy Sector Levy
An energy analyst, Kwadwo Poku, has pointed out that the government is effectively imposing a cumulative tax of GH¢2 per litre on fuel, rather than the announced GH¢1 under the Energy Sector Levy.
According to him, when all existing taxes on fuel are added up, the total comes to approximately GH¢2 per litre.
The government recently introduced an Energy Sector Recovery Levy to cover the cost of liquid fuel for thermal power plants.
Poku explained, “The government is collecting GH¢2, not GH¢1. According to the budget, they had already introduced 95 pesewas. With this new addition, the total levy is GH¢1.95 on petrol and GH¢1.93 on diesel.”
He noted that the levy could raise about $1 billion annually from petroleum taxes alone, a burden he says will deepen the financial strain on consumers.
“You want Ghanaians to pay an extra one billion cedis every year through petroleum taxes, yet we are already burdened with high electricity bills,” Poku lamented, as quoted by myjoyonline.com
He also questioned the fiscal strategy behind the policy, citing poor projections and a revenue shortfall saying, “There appears to be a problem at the Ministry of Finance. When the Minister read the budget, he clearly based the projections on an exchange rate of 15.4. Now, with a 30% revenue shortfall, the government is scrambling for cash.”
Poku further argued that the new levy is not truly about the energy sector but rather a way for the government to raise funds to fill budget gaps:
“This has nothing to do with the energy sector. It is simply the government taxing Ghanaians to fund its budget. We must not allow this to be framed as an energy-sector conversation,” he emphasised.
SSD/MA