Charles Owiredu speaks on ongoing DSTv saga
Member of Parliament for Abirem, Charles Owiredu has given reasons why prices of DStv subscriptions are higher in Ghana as compared to other countries in West Africa.
According to him, the high subscription costs in Ghana are not primarily the doing of Multichoice, but rather the result of a heavy tax burden on local users.
In an appearance on Adom TV, Owiredu said that while DStv customers in Nigeria pay a flat 7.5% VAT on their subscriptions, Ghanaian users face multiple taxes which increases their effective cost.
“In Nigeria, DStv users pay a VAT of 7.5% only on their subscriptions. Meanwhile in Ghana, DStv users pay VAT of 15%, NHIL and GETFund levies of 2.5% each, Communication Service Tax of 5% and another 3% on decoder usage.
“So Ghanaian DStv users pay 28% taxes on their subscriptions as compared to Nigerians who pay 7.5% taxes on their subscriptions,” he explained.
He argued that these multiple levies, rather than the platform itself “cheating” consumers, are the real barrier to more affordable subscription costs.
“It’s is not about DStv cheating Ghanaians, the taxes are too much,” Owiredu stated.
He urged the government to reduce or remove some of these charges if it truly wants to see cheaper DStv subscriptions in Ghana.
“If the government is really serious about reducing DStv prices, they should take off some of these taxes,” he urged.
ID/EB
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